Gérard Depardieu is on trial this Monday, October 28 in Paris for sexual assault on two women. A first case in a series, concerning the cinema star, now 75 years old, also accused of rape by two other women. The facts examined by the court this week date back to 2021.
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It was during a shoot, that of the film The green shuttersa film by Jean Becker. A decorator, around fifty years old, says she was attacked by Gérard Depardieu as she left the set. The actor was allegedly extremely rude before pinning her between her legs and touching her stomach and chest. Bodyguards then intervened to take the actor away. After this same filming, an assistant director also filed a complaint for sexual assault.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Anouk Grinberg, one of the actresses in the film, says that Gérard Depardieu, known for regularly making obscene and misogynistic comments, had behaved particularly inappropriately and aggressively on the set.
In all, around twenty women say they were victims of inappropriate comments or gestures from the star on film sets between 2004 and 2022. Two accuse him of rape, including a French actress who was around twenty years old at the time. the time of the facts. For this case, the Paris prosecutor’s office requested a trial. The investigating judge has yet to rule.
Another investigation is underway for sexual assault. The complaint this time comes from a filming assistant.
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MeTooMeédia denounces a “ human justice »
Considered a monster of French cinema, known for his excesses, the actor long benefited from a certain amount of goodwill before falling from his pedestal. Nearly a year ago, the broadcast of images filmed five years earlier in North Korea caused a scandal. He made numerous obscene statements about a very young girl. However, the French head of state continued at the time to speak of an immense actor.
Is the outlook changing, particularly towards famous men? For Cécile Thimoreau, general secretary of MeTooMedia, “ we do everything to [que cela évolue] because until now, there is a very small percentage of rapes that are judged and punished. So, we at MeTooMedia set ourselves up for that, saying to ourselves “It’s not possible” “, she explains. “ For years, individual women, for their part, have filed complaints and have experienced terrible things because we see these women and we see the state they are in. We have no doubt about what they experienced because psychologically, it leaves traces », adds Cécile Thimoreau.
She continues: “ We say to ourselves “but it’s not possible” in fact, it’s a man’s justice since women are not entitled to this justice for gender-based and sexual violence. Monday is the first Depardieu trial for the sexual assault of two women in 2021 », recalls Cécile Thimoreau. “ He had attacked another who filed a complaint in 2014. And then Charlotte Arnould who was the first to dare to file a complaint for rape. Then the journalist, a Spanish writer who also accused him of rape in 1995. So, in fact it’s starting to make quite a list for Mr. Depardieu. »
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For MeTooMedia, justice may seem slower for men of power. What is certain is that there is a breeding ground which has favored impunity.
We hope that this first trial of Depardieu will pronounce a sentence commensurate with his actions and which will pave the way for an exemplary, but fair, sanction.
Cécile Thimoreau, general secretary of MeTooMedia
Also read“Les Histrioniques” features the MeTooThéâtre collective and sexual violence in the theater