The list of allegations against Gérard Depardieu published by the French magazine media part published on Tuesday is long, very long: 13 women accuse him of harassing and touching them on their thighs, breasts and buttocks. Again and again he made obscene remarks to the women, made noises like “pigs in heat”, grunted, sniffed. “When he got on set he said, ‘It smells like pussy in here!'” one of the women is quoted as saying.
The journalist Marine Turchi has compiled the testimonies of the women in research for the Paris online newspaper that has been running since February 2021, they are said to relate to the shooting of eleven films and series between 2004 and 2022.
The sexual assaults took place in front of the assembled crew
Depardieu openly created a sexualized atmosphere on the set, many of the attacks took place in front of the assembled crew. There were no reactions at all, there was embarrassed silence or nervous laughter. Time and again, those responsible for production would have justified the behavior of the acting star as dirty, coarse humor. “We all know what Gérard Depardieu is like”, quoted media part producer Emmanuel Jacquelin.
An extra who appears in the text under a pseudonym, then 24 years old, reports that Depardieu put her hand under her dress without warning. “I felt his fingers trying to sneak in to reach my panties.” When she tried to fend him off, he became aggressive and tried to take off his panties. The costume assistant involved in the production in question, Isabel Butel, has media part confirmed the incident, she was shocked by the reaction of those responsible. “Oh, it’s Gérard, he’s teasing a bit,” it said. The extra was meanwhile “in tears”.
In the article, a former actress has her say: “If everyone got up and stopped work, if everyone said, ‘We can’t accept that,’ they would have extraordinary power.” But that didn’t happen, entire productions depended on the famous name of Depardieus.
“‘Do you know who he is? If you go to court, you’ll never win”
To the questions from media part The actor did not answer, but he “firmly denies all allegations that could be prosecuted” through his lawyer. None of the alleged victims have filed a complaint. The extra, whose panties Depardieu is said to have tried to remove, was told by several crew members that nobody “would testify”, if she files a complaint: “They repeated to me: ‘Do you know who he is? If you go to court, you’ll never win, and you’ll be seen as a girl who wants publicity.”
However, three of the women repeated their statements to the authorities. The investigation into the case of actress Charlotte Arnould, who accuses Depardieu of rape, has been ongoing since 2020. “I told myself I couldn’t leave her alone,” quoted media part the actress Helene Darras. “The film industry is full of Gérard, we have to talk.”
The investigations began in 2020, but the most recent of the attacks now described occurred last year.