PARIS: French star actor Gerard Depardieu, on trial for sexual assault, told the Paris court Tuesday that he was not in the habit of “groping” women, and called the #MeToo movement a “reign of terror.”
“I don’t see why I would go around groping a woman,” he said in his first statement at the trial, in which he is charged with sexual assault on two women during the shooting of a film in 2021.
Depardieu said he was “not like that” in response to the accusations, adding that “there are vices that are alien to me.”
Depardieu, 76, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, has been accused of improper behavior by around 20 women but this is the first case to come to trial.
“I deny all of it,” he told the court Tuesday.
He is the highest-profile figure to face accusations in French cinema’s response to the #MeToo movement, which he told the court Tuesday “will become a reign of terror.”
The trial relates to charges of sexual assault during the filming in 2021 of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters“) by director Jean Becker.
Anouk Grinberg, a prominent actor who appeared in the film, has backed the two plaintiffs — a set dresser, 54, identified only as Amelie, and a 34-year-old assistant director. Both women allege sexual violence.
Giving his account of events during the shoot, Depardieu told the court that “it was a Friday, it was hot, it was humid. I weigh 150 kilos (331 pounds) and I was in a bad mood.”
He said that after a heated discussion with Amelie about choices on set, he grabbed her by the hips but only “so I wouldn’t slip.”
Amelie, testifying after Depardieu, said that Depardieu had actually behaved like a “wild animal” and “wasn’t at all the same man that you see here today.”
He was “constantly making remarks about women,” including on their attire, she said.
She reiterated her account, first reported in February last year, on how she had suffered sexual assault, harassment and sexist insults during the filming in September 2021.
She said Depardieu made “obscene remarks.”
Asked why she had not come forward immediately, Amelie said: “I didn’t want to talk about it, I felt humiliated. I was having a great run professionally and I knew that if I filed a police report, it would be the end of the film.”
Grinberg said previously that Depardieu constantly made “salacious remarks” during shooting, and told AFP that producers who hired him knew they were “hiring an abuser.”
But Depardieu challenged the accusation relating to the use of dirty language.
The trial, initially scheduled for October 2024, had been postponed due to the actor’s ill health.
His lawyer said back then that Depardieu had undergone a heart bypass operation and suffered from diabetes that was aggravated by the stress of the forthcoming trial.
Depardieu became a star in France from the 1980s with roles in “The Last Metro,” “Police” and “Cyrano de Bergerac,” before Peter Weir’s “Green Card” also made him a Hollywood celebrity.
He later acted in global productions including Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet,” Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” and Netflix’s “Marseille” series.
Depardieu denies ‘groping’ women in France sex abuse trial
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Depardieu denies ‘groping’ women in France sex abuse trial
- Depardieu said he was “not like that” in response to the accusations, adding that “there are vices that are alien to me“
- “I deny all of it,” he told the court Tuesday
Alia Bhatt, Sigourney Weaver talk love for authenticity, strong women
JEDDAH: On the seventh day of the ongoing Red Sea International Film Festival, two actresses — set apart by geography and time — spoke of their love for telling authentic stories and depicting strong women.
Bollywood superstar Alia Bhatt and Hollywood great Sigourney Weaver, on their respective In Conversation panels, reflected on their varied careers and the choices that led them to enduring success.
From a teenager stepping onto her first film set to a respected actress in her early thirties, Bhatt’s journey is a testament to the power of curiosity and instinct.
“When I started out, I was ... maybe 17, 18,” she said. “I was way more enthusiastic and full of beans, trying really hard because I was just starting out.”
Her approach has evolved, but the core remains unchanged. “I’m still enthusiastic, still full of beans, but the approach is more silent. It comes with a little more sense of intent,” she said.
“I approach my work truly through pure instinct. The way I choose a part is like, ‘Oh, I've done this. Now I want to do this.’”
This approach, she said, led her to take creative risks — from “Highway” to “Udta Punjab” to Gangubai Kathiawadi” — always seeking variety.
Turning producer with Eternal Sunshine Productions was a natural progression of that curiosity. “I have a real strong passion for stories, so I like to get into it.
“And I like to think, ‘Okay, this has this potential, or this has that potential,’ and either I’m in it or I’m not, but I like to assess the initial stages of a story which is just a synopsis or first draft on paper.”
Weaver said she never set out to become an action hero. Initially shy and unsure, she was drawn not to specific roles but compelling stories.
When “Alien” came along, she approached the script with an open mind, unaware she was about to redefine female characters in science fiction.
“We were just trying to make a good, small movie,” she recalled. “The writers had cleverly crafted a script with a mixed-gender crew of “dirty space truckers,” deliberately subverting expectations by making the young woman the survivor and hero.
Weaver did not see it as a feminist statement at the time, but as a natural storytelling choice. Her character, Ellen Ripley, represented the idea that women could be self-reliant.
“She reminds us all that we can rely on ourselves and we don’t need a man to fly in and save us,” said Weaver.
