Gérard Depardieu accused of rape by a Spanish journalist

Spanish journalist and writer Ruth Baza announces that she has filed a complaint against the actor for acts dating back to 1995.

Gérard Depardieu faces new accusations of sexual violence. Spanish journalist and writer Ruth Baza has in turn filed a complaint in Spain against the French actor for rape for acts dating back to 1995 in Paris, she announced Tuesday, December 19 to AFP. The journalist claims to have been raped on October 12, 1995, when she was 23 years old, during an interview in Paris with the actor for the magazine Cinemania.

The author, now aged 51, filed a complaint with the Spanish police on Thursday, she explained to AFP, confirming information from the Spanish daily La Vanguardia. Ruth Baza discusses “a sexual assault” since in Spain this offense also includes rape according to the penal code. Asked about the nature of the facts, she replied that it was indeed rape. “The police called it that”, she supports. Contacted by AFP, the police and the prosecution said they were unable to confirm the filing of this complaint, the third targeting the actor for sexual violence since 2018.

Third complaint of sexual violence

“When we started the interview, we were both standing, and somehow, all of a sudden, he hugs me. He starts kissing me all over my face. He kissed on the mouth and I couldn’t move”explained Ruth Baza to AFP. “He touched my body and he touched my crotch, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t move, and he was kissing me, he was kissing me.”, she repeated. She mentions “an intrusion without any consent, at any time” and said she felt “paralyzed” during the events.

From a legal point of view, this complaint has little chance of success, the facts being a priori prescribed in France. Ruth Baza explains, however, that she decided to file a complaint in the hope that it could “help other people” to do the same. Gérard Depardieu has been indicted since 2020 for rape, after a complaint from actress Charlotte Arnould. A second complaint for sexual assault was filed by actress Hélène Darras, for facts dating back to 2007 on a set. The actor denies these accusations.