After years of absolute discretion, Luc Besson finally breaks the silence. This Saturday, September 23, 2023, the 64-year-old filmmaker accepted the invitation from Léa Salamé and Christophe Dechavanne to come to the set of What an era in order to express themselves. In full promotion of his new film DogMan, which is scheduled for release on Wednesday September 27, the director therefore returned to the rape accusations which, according to him, had a devastating effect on his career in the 7th art.
️ “A lot of people gave up on me” when @Luc Besson was accused of rape, the filmmaker recalls. #QuelleEpoque@France2tv@LeaSalamepic.twitter.com/vObTd9bqCX
— What an era! (@QuelleEpoqueOff) September 23, 2023
Intrigued, the host tried to find out more about the impact of the trial on the artist’s life. “How did you experience the 5 years when you were publicly indicted for accusations as serious as rape and sexual assault? Did you feel let down?”, she dared to ask. A question to which the principal concerned did not take long to answer. On France 2, the latter first explained that he “felt like an outcast” before admitting that “LWeakness and cowardice are human feelings for which I have great tenderness.”. For him, it is “very difficult to be brave.”
Also see: Luc Besson: the chilling testimony of the actress who accuses him of rape
“JI don’t blame them.”
Abandoned from the “great family of cinema”, Luc Besson then revealed that only “1 or 2 %” had remained to him “faithful”. Hurt, however, he does not seem to hold it against those who chose to move away. “It doesn’t matter, I don’t blame them at all. I have a lot of friends now (the court has rendered its verdict, editor’s note)“he confided with emotion.
For their part, Léa Salamé and Christophe Dechavanne did not fail to emphasize that the behavior of these people was understandable. “You never really know people.”, notably underlined the companion of Raphaël Glucksmann. And the director concludes: “I don’t go out, I don’t drink, I’ve never broken a hotel room, I don’t have the profile, but I was a good target because I had a certain success, a certain power and if we manage to catch someone like that… I know that for every woman who lies there are 1000 who don’t lie.”
V.B.