Symbol of sexual violence and machismo For some the French national pride, for others the actor Gerard DepardieuThe 75-year-old has lost his aura as an untouchable icon. Despite his accusation of rape in 2020, after a Complaint the actress Charlotte Arnould, the artist continued to multiply his film productions. He also asserted his position as the holy monster of French cinema and, except in feminist circles, there was a certain leniency towards him.
His strong, often excessive temper earned him the sympathy of the public and the profession. His statements about the rapes in which he was involved in his youth cost him his career in the United States in the early 1990s, but had little effect in France. An actress as popular as Sophie Marceau called him a “predator” in 2015. for his behavior during filming, but these comments went completely unnoticed.
Related topics
(You can read: Gérard Depardieu: Spanish journalist also accuses him of sexual abuse).
The film industry has turned a deaf ear and preferred to praise this actor, with more than 200 cinema and television films and a presence that brought to life great heroes of French literature such as Cyrano or Jean Valjean (in Les Miserables), without forgetting Óbelix or historical figures such as Danton.
But at the end of 2023, the comedian's antics, who even urinated in an airplane cabin in 2011, are no longer funny. And Depardieu, who has become one of France's most controversial artists, decided to take a career break. Everything accelerated in less than a month after a report was broadcast by the France 2 television channel He makes obscene statements about women and even a girl. The consequences are immediate.
Depardieu is stripped of the National Order of Quebec (Canada), he loses his title as an honorary citizen of a Belgian community, and the Grévin Museum in Paris removes his wax statue.. Some prominent film characters criticize him publicly, such as actress Anouk Grinberg. One side is mobilizing in his defense: his family, especially his daughter and actress Julie Depardieu, denounces a “scheme” against her father, his ex-partner Carole Bouquet defends “the sometimes borderline humor of a man who is incapable would be to cause harm to a woman.
Those who defend him
More than fifty cultural figures in France denounced a “lynching” of the interpreter in the newspaper Le Figaro. Actresses are among the signatories Nathalie Baye And Charlotte Rampling, the actors Jacques Weber and Pierre Richard and singers like Roberto Alagna and Carla Bruni. Depardieu “is probably the greatest of all actorsS. “The last holy pillar of cinema,” says the text, which the feminist collective Nous Toutes describes as “spitting in the face of the victims.”
The case reached another dimension after the French President, Emmanuel Macronamid a political crisis over an immigration bill supported by the far right, defended the actor.
(Other topic: Why aren't Karol G and Bad Bunny superstars in Brazil?)
The centrist president denounced a “manhunt” and contradicted his culture minister, who had questioned the interpreter's upholding of the Legion of Honor. He made France, our great authors, our great characters known throughout the world (…) Fills France with pride,” declared Macron.
Depardieu has a more than strange history with his homeland. He is an admirer of the most authoritarian leaders and also has Russian citizenship. At the judicial level, in addition to the accusation of rape, there are also Depardieu, who denies the allegations, He was reported by the actress Hélène Darras for sexual harassment, in cases prescribed from the outset. Depardieu's supporters defend their right to the presumption of innocence. “You can accuse someone, there may be victims, but there is also the presumption of innocence,” emphasized Macron.
AFP