Nothing is going well for Gérard Depardieu. Since the survey published by Mediapart April 11, 2023 in which 13 women accuse him of sexual violence, the actor’s career is in danger. Starring in Slony Sow’s next film, Umami, which is scheduled for theatrical release on May 17, 2023, the 74-year-old actor was deprived of promotion, as indicated by the distribution company Zinc in a recent press release.
“After the recent media coverage of testimonies against Gérard Depardieu and as we prepare the next Umami release of which he is the headliner, we – distributor and producer – believe we should share the following elements: First of all , we would like to reiterate that abusive behavior is not acceptable in the world of cinema or elsewhere and we support all victims of sexual violence or harassment”can we read.
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“No incidents during the filming”
The company assures that it “had no incidents during the filming of the film”. “We interviewed all the teams. No one reported any inappropriate behavior on the part of Gérard Depardieu during filming”, she declares. After a long reflection, the production made the decision to “maintain its launch”. A launch in which Gérard Depardieu will not be associated.
“It’s a collective work that has involved many talents. We don’t want to nullify the hundreds of hours of work and the considerable energy that has been deployed by all the people who participated in a film, shot between France and Japan under tight budgetary conditions during the Covid crisis. In this context, we therefore continue to defend this film and Gérard Depardieu is not associated with its promotion.”
Gérard Depardieu, for his part, disputes the statements of the victims. According to his lawyers, the actor “does not intend to respond to this veritable indictment, which jumbles up very diverse subjects, some of which are based on very subjective assessments and/or moral judgments”. He denies “formally all the charges likely to fall under criminal law”, and denies being “a predator”.
VB