Around sixty artists defended, in a forum, the “last sacred monster” of cinema, at the heart of a political-media controversy.
Around sixty personalities from the world of culture denounce a “lynching” of Gérard Depardieu, indicted for rape since 2020 and at the heart of a scandal that has become politico-media following a documentary broadcast on France 2, in a column published this Monday, December 25 in the evening on the website of the Figaro.
Among them are the director Bertrand Blier, the actresses Nathalie Baye, Carole Bouquet or Charlotte Rampling, the actors Jacques Weber, Pierre Richard or Gérard Darmon, but also the singers Roberto Alagna, Carla Bruni, Arielle Dombasle or Jacques Dutronc.
“Gérard Depardieu is probably the greatest of actors. The last sacred monster of cinema. We can no longer remain silent in the face of the lynching that falls on him, in the face of the torrent of hatred that pours out on his person, without nuance, in the most complete amalgamation and in defiance of a presumption of innocence from which he would have benefited, like everyone else, if he were not the giant of cinema that he is”, they write in this text.
An attack on “art”
“When we attack Gérard Depardieu in this way, it is art that we attack. Through his genius as an actor, Gérard Depardieu contributes to the artistic influence of our country. (…) Whatever it happens, no one will ever be able to erase the indelible trace of his work which our era is forever marked. The rest, everything else, concerns justice; only justice. Exclusively”, they add.
The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron and members of the actor’s family, including his daughter Julie, had already spoken publicly to defend Gérard Depardieu, indicted following one of the two complaints he made object in France and which refutes these accusations.
The recent broadcast of a report on the actor, in the program “Complément d’investigation” on the France 2 channel, caused a shock wave, with international repercussions.
In these images, Gérard Depardieu, known for having played Cyrano de Bergerac, multiplies misogynistic and insulting remarks while addressing women, not sparing a little girl with remarks of a sexual nature.
The France Télévisions group assured Friday that this last passage had been “authenticated” by a bailiff. This reaction came after statements by the Head of State on France 5 suggesting that the sequence could have been modified during editing, as the actor’s family had previously stated.
Since the scandal, Gérard Depardieu has been removed from the National Order of Quebec and his title of honorary citizen of the commune of Estaimpuis (Belgium), while his wax statue has been removed from the museum’s tour route. Grévin in Paris.