“Opinion is on the wrong track by stupidly moralizing these great artists,” believes academician Jean-Marie Rouart

“Opinion is on the wrong track by stupidly moralizing these great artists”, estimates Tuesday, December 26 on France Inter, academician Jean-Marie Rouart. He co-signed a column with around fifty personalities from the world of culture, published by the Figaro, to support Gérard Depardieu. The actor has been indicted for rape since 2020. Several women also accuse him of harassment and sexual assault. Facts that he disputes. Finally, the French actor is at the heart of a scandal after the broadcast, on December 7, of a report from Further investigation where he is heard making obscene remarks.

“Let’s not be prudish. An actor of the caliber of Gérard Depardieu…. We bother him for statements that may be vulgar, so what? Is that important in life? What matters is ‘that’s what he is, that’s what he brings’, protests Jean-Marie Rouart. According to him, “opinion”the one who denounces the actions of Gérard Depardieu, “is in the process of eliminating what makes France happy, this humor that we could have had and this indulgence that we had with the lives of great artists”.

In this forum, Gérard Depardieu’s supporters denounce “lynching” and the “torrent of hatred pouring out” on “the last sacred monster of cinema”. The signatories also deplore a “disregard for the presumption of innocence”. According to them, the actor in question is “private” because it is “a giant of cinema”. They don’t have a word for the complainants. “Let justice do its job”sweep away the signatories of this forum entitled “don’t erase Gérard Depardieu”.