Fifty-six French stars, including Carla Bruni, Charlotte Rampling and Carole Bouquet, have signed an open letter defending Gerard Depardieu, the Oscar-nominated actor accused of rape and accused of sexual assault and harassment by more than a dozen other women etc. was accused gropingly.
The essay, published in the conservative-leaning French newspaper Le Figaro, states in part: “We cannot remain silent in the face of the lynching against him and the flood of hatred that is pouring on his personality” (via AP). “When Gerard Depardieu is targeted in this way, that is the art [of cinema] that is under attack. … To deprive us of this tremendous actor would be a drama, a defeat. The death of art. Our art.”
Other signatories included actors Pierre Richard, Victoria Abril and Nathalie Baye, as well as directors Bertrand Blier and Francis Veber.
Depardieu has not been convicted in connection with any of the allegations and denies wrongdoing. He called the open letter “beautiful” and its signatories “brave,” France 24 reports.
Depardieu, the 74-year-old star of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “The Man in the Iron Mask” and more than 200 other films and television series, was indicted in 2020 on rape allegations related to a 2018 lawsuit filed by actress Charlotte Arnold. A year after his indictment, Depardieu appeared in the film Robuste, directed by Constance Meyer, which opened Critics' Week at Cannes. When over a dozen more alleged victims came forward in April 2023 as part of an investigative report by Mediapart, Depardieu's reputation finally suffered a blow. In December, French actress Hélène Darras filed a police report alleging that Depardieu sexually abused her during the filming of the 2007 film “Disco.”
On December 7, France Televisions aired a bombshell documentary detailing Depardieu's allegations of sexual abuse. The channel's head of film and international co-production, Manuel Alduy, told Variety that the TV group, however, had no intentions against Depardieu and would not boycott his films: “We will not ban films, but we will not celebrate.” They accused artists until they were completely acquitted.”
French President Emmanuel Macron sparked controversy later in December when he said on television: “I am a great admirer of Gérard Depardieu.”
Macron continued: “He is a great actor who has delivered some of the most beautiful lines. He made France, our greatest authors, our greatest characters known around the world. I say it as President of France, but also as a citizen, he makes France proud.”
In France Televisions' documentary about Depardieu, the actor is seen making crude, sexual and misogynistic jokes, including about a child riding a pony. In his remarks, Macron suggested that the section may have been edited in a misleading way. According to the AP, France Televisions later said the segment had been authenticated by a bailiff who viewed raw footage.