a “counter-tribune” of 600 artists calls to “refuse the trivialization of words and acts such as those” of the actor

Angèle, Louane and Waly Dia are among the 600 signatories who believe that “art should not be made by idols outside of reality”.

“It is everyone’s duty to refuse the trivialization of words and actions such as those of Gérard Depardieu”, call on 600 artists in a column published on the blog “cerveauxnonavailables.net” and relayed in Le Club de Mediapart on Saturday December 30. Among the signatories, we find many music stars: Angèle, Louane, Suzane, Pomme, Médine, Gauvain Sers and Vitalic.

The actress Judith Chemla, or even comedians Elodie Arnould and Waly Dia, also signed this text which intends to respond to the column of support for the French actor, published in Le Figaro on December 25 and signed by 56 personalities, “a world that is falling apart”a “small part of the ‘world of culture’.

With this text, these 600 artists also wish to respond to the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron who defended Gérard Depardieu during an interview on France 5 on December 20. This “counter-tribune” opposes the assertion that “Depardieu represents art in France” and that to attack him is therefore to attack art, “as if the status of artist or talent justified singular treatment”.

“Impossible to act as if nothing had happened”

It front of “despicable remarks” of Gérard Depardieu, revealed in the program Complément d’investigation on December 7, and to the three complaints for rape and sexual assault which target the actor, it is “impossible to act as if nothing had happened, while waiting for ‘justice to do its job’.”

“We cannot remain silent! Let us break the law of silence, against complicit silence, let us break the echo of impunity. Let us shed light on the truth and choose the end of the gray areas.”

An extract from the column relayed by the Mediapart blog

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Adé, Mahaut Drama, and even Imany also sign this platform for “remember that art does not have to be made by idols outside of reality, art is not on the side of the whims of stars”. For these 600 artists, “the production of art is not an abstraction located outside of social dynamics.”