In a survey published by Mediapart, thirteen women recount having suffered sexual assault or inappropriate sexual remarks from the actor during filming.
Some speak under a pseudonym, but others use their real name. Thirteen women accuse actor Gérard Depardieu of sexual violence in an investigation published Tuesday, April 11 by the Mediapart site (paid item). They denounce facts which would have mainly occurred on the set of eleven films, between 2004 and 2022. The actor, already indicted for rape and sexual assault since March 2022, “formally deny”, according to his lawyers. Franceinfo takes stock of what we know about these new accusations against the actor.
The actor is accused of sexual assault
Among the thirteen women who testify to Mediapart, nine accuse the 74-year-old actor of sexual assault, in particular on the set of films. This is the case of Lyla *, a 24-year-old extra at the time of the alleged facts. The scene would have taken place in 2014, on the set of the film big housein New York (USA). “Without warning, Gérard Depardieu put his hand under my dress”, she says. She claims to have pushed him away. “But he continued, he became aggressive, he tried to pull my panties aside and finger me: I understood that he was not playing his character. If I had not stopped him, he would have succeeded. “
Sarah Brooks was 20 when she met the actor on the set of the series Marseilles in 2015. In Mediapart, she explains that Gérard Depardieu put his hand in his shorts, emitting “a weird big growl”. She claims to have “removed his hand for the first time”but the actor would have put it back “In [sa] cheeky”trying to him “touching the buttocks”. On the set of season 2 of Marseillesthe star would still have “caress [la] thigh” by Graziella Jullian, an extra from 47 years. Jeanne *, a former actress, testifies to similar facts during the week of filming that she shared with the comedian on the film The kid.
Hélène Darras is an extra in the film Disco when she met the actor in 2007. She told Mediapart that“between each take”THE comedian took her “by the waist” and that he had the “wandering hand”. He would also have put “a hand to the buttocks in a supported way” before offering to “to go up to his lodge”. The behavior of the actor towards a young extra during the same shoot is also singled out, but the actress did not want her name and the details of her story to be known. Adèle, an assistant director, was present on the set of Disco at the time of “this incident” which she witnessed. She herself claims to have been the victim of“a hand on the buttocks” by Gérard Depardieu in 2005.
On the set of Hello GoodbyeFlorence *, then 24 years old, suffered the behavior of the actor, who would have put her “hand between [ses] legs”. She also says that the star would have “put his foot between [ses] legs” trying “to reach [sa] cheeky” during a common scene. According to information from Mediapart, the actor would also “grabbed an extra by the buttocks” on the set of comedy Turfreleased in 2013.
For her part, make-up artist Gwenaëlle Courtois remembers a “wandering hand” on [sa] hip” in the dressing rooms of the program “Les Enfants de la télé”, around the year 2000. Léa* met Gérard Depardieu in a completely different context when she worked in restaurants owned by the actor, between 2004 and 2016. She tells Mediapart that “two or three times”while“he passed at the end of the day”the actor would have “groped when arriving from behind”.
Victims also testify to inappropriate remarks
In addition to testimonies of sexual assault, several women report inappropriate sexual remarks, with similar stories that seem to draw a “mode of operation”. Lise Schreiber was also an extra on the film Disco. She remembers a great discomfort when the actor asked a small group of extras “if they sucked off their man and if they liked it”.
On the set of Hello GoodbyeFlorence also says that the actor would have repeated to her “You like to get your ass smashed” when shooting tight shots on her. Émilie*, then 22 years old, also claims that the actor would have “spent his time at [lui] cast insistent glances, look [ses] thighs, making animal grunts”. He also told him “something like ‘I would lick you’, making salacious gestures of licking”.
Camille G., former stage manager, rubs shoulders with Gérard Depardieu in 2020, on the set of the film Retirement home. Then 20 years old, she claims to have been “stuck”, “in a hallway”by the actor, who would have spoken to him in particular “of his desire to rub shoulders with [sa] little wet pussy”.
Finally, Elisa, the daughter of an acquaintance of Gérard Depardieu, remembers from Mediapart that the actor “very uncomfortable”. “He only talked about sex, what he would like to do to such and such a woman”she describes.
They also point to a “complacency” vis-à-vis the star
The majority of the violence denounced would have occurred in front of witnesses, in public. And several victims claim to have warned other people of certain facts.
“These stories question the complacency from which the 74-year-old actor would have benefited on film sets and the lack of reaction from the production teams.”
Journalist Marine Turchi, author of the investigationon Mediapart
“Adults let an actor fiddle with my breasts in front of everyone”denounces the actress and screenwriter Alysse Hallali, aged 17 when she plays the daughter of Gérard Depardieu in The Other Dumas. Camille G., a former stage manager, recounts having “bad life” what she describes as“omerta”. Lyla also claims to have lacked support at the time and adds that several people advised her against filing a complaint.
“They kept telling me, ‘Do you know who he is?’ If you go to court, you’ll never win, and you’ll be seen as a publicity girl.”
Lyla, extra on the movie “Big House”at franceinfo
For his part, the director Fabien Onteniente, who notably directed Gérard Depardieu on the comedy Turf, tells Mediapart to have reframed the actor after several alerts. But some producers and directors contacted did not respond to Mediapart, while others claim to have “never seen inappropriate behavior on his part or heard a member of the team complain”despite conflicting evidence.
Among these women, none filed a complaint, according to Mediapart. Three of them, however, gave their testimony in court. In March, after her interview with the investigation site, Lyla decided to transmit her testimony to the judicial institution. Jeanne, for her part, testified in a procedure at the prud’hommes in 2018 initiated by another actress. Finally, ua former intern present on the set of 36 Quai des Goldsmithsalso testified, in another legal proceeding against the actor, to have seen him “putting your hand in the panties of extras”.
Gérard Depardieu denies the accusations
Contacted by Mediapart, Gérard Depardieu “formally deny”through its lawyers, “all the charges likely to fall under criminal law”. The actor is already accused by the actress Charlotte Arnould, a case in which he was indicted for “rape” and “sexual assault” in December 2020. The actress, who is not one of the thirteen women who testify for Mediapart, claims to have been raped in 2018, at the Parisian home of Gérard Depardieu, in a hotel particular of the 6th arrondissement of Paris. She was then 22 years old.
*Names have been changed.