Gérard Depardieu is accused of rape and sexual assault by thirteen women, an investigation by Mediapart revealed in April 2023.
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After several months of silence, the actor spoke out in Le Figaro and wrote an open letter in which he defended himself.
“I couldn’t agree more with what I’ve been hearing, what I’ve been reading about myself for several months. I thought I wouldn’t care, but no, actually no. This is all getting on my nerves. Worse, it turns me off. Today I can no longer sing Barbara because a woman who wanted to sing Barbara with me accused me of rape. I finally want to tell you my truth. “I’ve never abused a woman,” he begins.
For the actor, “hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach.” According to Gérard Depardieu, it all starts with revenge.
“A woman came to my house for the first time, walked lightly and voluntarily into my room. She now says she was raped there. She came back a second time. There has never been any force, violence or protest between us. She wanted to sing Barbara’s songs with me in the Cirque d’Hiver. I told him no. She filed a complaint,” the actor continues.
“I am neither a rapist nor a predator,” concludes Gérard Depardieu.