Gérard Depardieu being questioned over sexual assault allegation
Gérard Depardieu is reportedly in custody in Paris over two new allegations of sexual assault.
Gérard Depardieu is reportedly in custody over allegations of sexual assault.
The 75-year-old actor - who has previously denied claims of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women - was summoned to a police station in Paris, France, on Monday (29.04.24) to face questioning over two separate claims brought by women who worked with him on film sets in 2014 and 2021.
The latter incident allegedly took place on the set of 'The Green Shutters'.
Her lawyer told broadcaster BFMTV: "[My client was] passing through a corridor where Mr Depardieu was sitting.
"He grabbed her, trapped her between his legs and touched her body up to her breasts.
"She felt completely powerless, incapable of escaping this trap."
The lawyer claimed the alleged incident stopped when other people stepped in and interrupted them, and the complaint was subjected to the Paris public prosecutor's office last Friday (26.04.24).
Prosecutors in Paris told the BBC: "We have no information to share or confirm until we have assessed any potential charges and directions to pursue.
"The parties involved in the proceedings should be informed first of their content, in accordance with the criminal procedure which aims to guarantee the rights of everyone involved" they continued.
In 2020, the 'Green Card' actor was charged with the rape of actress Charlotte Arnould in 2018 when she was 22 years old. The case remains open but a separate case, which was brought by another actress, Helene Darras, was dropped by prosecutors for being past the statute of limitations.
Gerard has denied any wrongdoing after 13 women accused him of sexual misbehaviour.
He previously wrote in Le Figaro newspaper in a letter headed 'I finally want to tell you my truth': “I can no longer allow what I hear, what I have read about myself for several months. I thought I didn’t care, but no, actually no. This all gets to me. Worse still, it wipes me out."
Without referring to Charlotte by name, the Frenchman insisted his accuser had gone to his room "of her own free will" and there had never been any "coercion" from him.
He wrote: “Today, I can no longer sing 'Barbara'because a woman who wanted to sing 'Barbara' with me accused me of rape. I finally want to tell you my truth. I have never, ever abused a woman.
“Hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach.
“A woman came to my house for the first time, with a light step, going up to my room of her own free will. She says today that she was raped there. She came back a second time.
“There has never been any coercion, violence or protest between us. She wanted to sing Barbara’s songs at the Cirque d’Hiver with me. I told him no… She filed a complaint.”
The 'Life of Pi' actor also addressed allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour on set and insisted he was simply "behaving like a child who wanted to have fun".
