Latest news with #TheFalloftheOgre
Economic Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
Lights, camera… conviction: Gérard Depardieu convicted of sexual assault
AP Gerard Depardieu has been a towering father figure of French movies for more than five decades. But throughout his mammoth career, the Oscar-nominated actor has faced a history of serious sexual misconduct, lewd behaviour, and controversies. Now this recent conviction has put a dark shadow over his future. French actor Gérard Depardieu has been convicted of sexually assaulting two women during the filming of Les Volets Verts in 2021. A Paris court on Tuesday, May 13, gave him a suspended sentence of 18 months and ordered him to be added to the national sex offender now 76, was considered a father figure and celebrated as one of France's greatest actors, and has starred in over 230 films. But in recent years, more than 20 women have accused him of sexual misconduct or assault. This is the first case to go to trial. The victims in the 2021 case were a set decorator and an assistant director. Amélie, the decorator, said Depardieu grabbed her waist, locked her between his legs, and groped her. The assistant director said he touched her breasts and buttocks multiple times. The judge called their accounts "coherent and consistent" and supported by evidence. One victim will receive €15,000 in damages, and the other €14,040, including medical expenses. However, Depardieu denied the allegations. 'I respect people. I like to help people,' he said during the trial. He also claimed he belonged to a different era, suggesting his bold personality clashes with today's expectations. In his defence, his lawyer said that he would appeal. This case adds to a long list of controversies in Depardieu's life. In 2020, he was charged with raping actor Charlotte Arnould. In 1991, Time magazine published an interview where he appeared to admit to multiple rapes during childhood. He later denied it by saying it was a translation error. His behavior has long raised eyebrows—from urinating on a plane to befriending leaders like Vladimir Putin. In 2013, he received Russian citizenship and later criticized the invasion of a 2023 TV report, The Fall of the Ogre, exposed disturbing remarks Depardieu made in North Korea about an underage that incident, French President Emmanuel Macron seemed to favor him, saying Depardieu remains a 'towering actor who makes France proud.' Another famous French Film icon, Brigitte Bardot, comes to his defence, making an outrageous comment, 'Those who have talent and put their hands on a girl's bottom are thrown in the gutter.'Undoubtedly, this is one of the high-profile #MeToo cases to come before judges in France, as this movement did not get the limelight as in the USA.Gérard Depardieu is a renowned French actor born in 1948 in Châteauroux, France. He has appeared in over 250 films since 1967, known for his versatility and powerful screen presence. He won two César Awards for Best Actor and was nominated for an Academy Award for "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1990). French actor Gérard Depardieu was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021. He was convicted of groping a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of "Les Volets Verts" and received an 18-month suspended prison sentence along with a fine.Gérard Depardieu was sentenced to an 18-month suspended prison term and fined €20,000 for sexually assaulting two women on a 2021 film set. Additionally, he was ordered to be registered on France's sex offender list. He could face up to five years in prison if convicted without Gérard Depardieu has faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, with around 20 women publicly accusing him of inappropriate behavior. Other allegations, including a 2018 rape accusation by actress Charlotte Arnould, are still under investigation or pending trial.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gerard Depardieu: a tarnished French film icon
Gerard Depardieu was a titan of French cinema for more than 50 years but a sexual assault conviction, a string of other allegations and several instances of lewd behaviour now cast a long, dark shadow over what was once a glittering career. The 76-year-old has been accused of sexual assault or rape by around 20 women. On Tuesday, in the first of these cases to go to trial, Depardieu was convicted of sexually assaulting two women during a 2021 film shoot in Paris for French director Jean Becker. One of the two victims said Depardieu grabbed her, groped her breasts and made "obscene remarks" about wanting to penetrate her. His lawyer said he will appeal. In 2020, he was also charged with raping actor Charlotte Arnould when she was in her 20s. He denies the allegations. Depardieu's prolific career spans more than 200 films, making him one of the best-known French faces on the silver screen. French audiences long appreciated his brash, unfiltered and frequently offensive character. But this is now often seen in a strikingly different light in the #MeToo era. - 'Fall of the Ogre' - A 2023 television investigation entitled "The Fall of the Ogre" revealed images shot five years earlier in North Korea, in which Depardieu can be heard making obscene sexual remarks about an under-age girl. When then-culture minister Rima Abdul-Malak called the recording of Depardieu in North Korea a "shame for France", President Emmanuel Macron jumped to his defence. He remained a "towering actor" who "makes France proud", Macron said. Around 60 film and art figures signed a petition to support the "cinema giant" in 2023, entitled "Don't Cancel Gerard Depardieu". Ahead of the sexual assault verdict, fellow film icon Brigitte Bardot also leapt to his defence, saying: "Those who have talent and put their hands on a girl's bottom are thrown in the gutter." While he attended the start of the trial, Depardieu was not in court for the verdict. He had in April been working on a new film directed by another of his supporters, actor Fanny Ardant, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. - 'Hero with a thousand faces' - Depardieu was born December 27, 1948, in Chateauroux, central France. Although his teenage years were marked by delinquency, he went on to discover the theatre in Paris and appeared in his first film in 1965. One of Depardieu's breakthrough roles came as a violent small-time crook in 1974's "Les Valseuses" ("Going Places") directed by Bertrand Blier -- a film that drew criticism for its on-screen depictions of sex. The controversy did nothing to harm Depardieu's career. He went on to be crowned with France's version of an Oscar, the Cesar award, for "Le Dernier Metro" ("The Last Metro") by New Wave icon Francois Truffaut. US magazine Newsweek called Depardieu a "hero with a thousand faces" in 1987, when he was on a successful run that peaked with 1990's "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Jean-Paul Rappeneau. He began dipping into Hollywood in the years after, with movies such as "Green Card" and "1492" which won him new audiences. But his reputation took a blow in 1991 -- just before the Oscars ceremony where Depardieu was nominated for Best Actor for Cyrano de Bergerac -- when Time magazine printed an interview where he admitted to rapes during childhood. There was anger in the French government about an alleged conspiracy to deprive him of the Oscar and Depardieu denied having made the remarks, although Time stood by the interview. - 'Provocative, excessive' - While Depardieu's other antics -- such as urinating on board a plane in 2011 -- had once drawn laughs, he now became a liability for film studios. Pleading before the court of public opinion in an open letter in 2023, he swore that he was "neither a rapist nor a predator". "I've been provocative, excessive, sometimes crude throughout my life... If when I thought I was living intensely in the present moment, I have hurt or shocked anyone at all, I never meant to do harm and I apologise," Depardieu wrote. The father-of-three, whose son Guillaume died in 2008, has undergone a quadruple heart bypass and suffers from diabetes that has been aggravated by the stress of the trial, according to his lawyer. In 2013, he received a Russian passport personally from President Vladimir Putin. But he has criticised Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. fbe-adp-sjw/ekf/gil
France 24
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Gerard Depardieu: a tarnished French film icon
The 76-year-old has been accused of sexual assault or rape by around 20 women. On Tuesday, in the first of these cases to go to trial, Depardieu was convicted of sexually assaulting two women during a 2021 film shoot in Paris for French director Jean Becker. One of the two victims said Depardieu grabbed her, groped her breasts and made "obscene remarks" about wanting to penetrate her. His lawyer said he will appeal. In 2020, he was also charged with raping actor Charlotte Arnould when she was in her 20s. He denies the allegations. Depardieu's prolific career spans more than 200 films, making him one of the best-known French faces on the silver screen. French audiences long appreciated his brash, unfiltered and frequently offensive character. But this is now often seen in a strikingly different light in the #MeToo era. 'Fall of the Ogre' A 2023 television investigation entitled "The Fall of the Ogre" revealed images shot five years earlier in North Korea, in which Depardieu can be heard making obscene sexual remarks about an under-age girl. When then-culture minister Rima Abdul-Malak called the recording of Depardieu in North Korea a "shame for France", President Emmanuel Macron jumped to his defence. He remained a "towering actor" who "makes France proud", Macron said. Around 60 film and art figures signed a petition to support the "cinema giant" in 2023, entitled "Don't Cancel Gerard Depardieu". Ahead of the sexual assault verdict, fellow film icon Brigitte Bardot also leapt to his defence, saying: "Those who have talent and put their hands on a girl's bottom are thrown in the gutter." While he attended the start of the trial, Depardieu was not in court for the verdict. He had in April been working on a new film directed by another of his supporters, actor Fanny Ardant, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. 'Hero with a thousand faces' Depardieu was born December 27, 1948, in Chateauroux, central France. Although his teenage years were marked by delinquency, he went on to discover the theatre in Paris and appeared in his first film in 1965. One of Depardieu's breakthrough roles came as a violent small-time crook in 1974's "Les Valseuses" ("Going Places") directed by Bertrand Blier -- a film that drew criticism for its on-screen depictions of sex. The controversy did nothing to harm Depardieu's career. He went on to be crowned with France's version of an Oscar, the Cesar award, for "Le Dernier Metro" ("The Last Metro") by New Wave icon Francois Truffaut. US magazine Newsweek called Depardieu a "hero with a thousand faces" in 1987, when he was on a successful run that peaked with 1990's "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Jean-Paul Rappeneau. He began dipping into Hollywood in the years after, with movies such as "Green Card" and "1492" which won him new audiences. But his reputation took a blow in 1991 -- just before the Oscars ceremony where Depardieu was nominated for Best Actor for Cyrano de Bergerac -- when Time magazine printed an interview where he admitted to rapes during childhood. There was anger in the French government about an alleged conspiracy to deprive him of the Oscar and Depardieu denied having made the remarks, although Time stood by the interview. 'Provocative, excessive' While Depardieu's other antics -- such as urinating on board a plane in 2011 -- had once drawn laughs, he now became a liability for film studios. Pleading before the court of public opinion in an open letter in 2023, he swore that he was "neither a rapist nor a predator". "I've been provocative, excessive, sometimes crude throughout my life... If when I thought I was living intensely in the present moment, I have hurt or shocked anyone at all, I never meant to do harm and I apologise," Depardieu wrote. The father-of-three, whose son Guillaume died in 2008, has undergone a quadruple heart bypass and suffers from diabetes that has been aggravated by the stress of the trial, according to his lawyer. In 2013, he received a Russian passport personally from President Vladimir Putin. But he has criticised Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Int'l Business Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Int'l Business Times
Gerard Depardieu: A Tarnished French Film Icon
Gerard Depardieu was a titan of French cinema for more than 50 years but a sexual assault conviction, a string of other allegations and several instances of lewd behaviour now cast a long, dark shadow over what was once a glittering career. The 76-year-old has been accused of sexual assault or rape by around 20 women. On Tuesday, in the first of these cases to go to trial, Depardieu was convicted of sexually assaulting two women during a 2021 film shoot in Paris for French director Jean Becker. One of the two victims said Depardieu grabbed her, groped her breasts and made "obscene remarks" about wanting to penetrate her. His lawyer said he will appeal. In 2020, he was also charged with raping actor Charlotte Arnould when she was in her 20s. He denies the allegations. Depardieu's prolific career spans more than 200 films, making him one of the best-known French faces on the silver screen. French audiences long appreciated his brash, unfiltered and frequently offensive character. But this is now often seen in a strikingly different light in the #MeToo era. A 2023 television investigation entitled "The Fall of the Ogre" revealed images shot five years earlier in North Korea, in which Depardieu can be heard making obscene sexual remarks about an under-age girl. When then-culture minister Rima Abdul-Malak called the recording of Depardieu in North Korea a "shame for France", President Emmanuel Macron jumped to his defence. He remained a "towering actor" who "makes France proud", Macron said. Around 60 film and art figures signed a petition to support the "cinema giant" in 2023, entitled "Don't Cancel Gerard Depardieu". Ahead of the sexual assault verdict, fellow film icon Brigitte Bardot also leapt to his defence, saying: "Those who have talent and put their hands on a girl's bottom are thrown in the gutter." While he attended the start of the trial, Depardieu was not in court for the verdict. He had in April been working on a new film directed by another of his supporters, actor Fanny Ardant, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Depardieu was born December 27, 1948, in Chateauroux, central France. Although his teenage years were marked by delinquency, he went on to discover the theatre in Paris and appeared in his first film in 1965. One of Depardieu's breakthrough roles came as a violent small-time crook in 1974's "Les Valseuses" ("Going Places") directed by Bertrand Blier -- a film that drew criticism for its on-screen depictions of sex. The controversy did nothing to harm Depardieu's career. He went on to be crowned with France's version of an Oscar, the Cesar award, for "Le Dernier Metro" ("The Last Metro") by New Wave icon Francois Truffaut. US magazine Newsweek called Depardieu a "hero with a thousand faces" in 1987, when he was on a successful run that peaked with 1990's "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Jean-Paul Rappeneau. He began dipping into Hollywood in the years after, with movies such as "Green Card" and "1492" which won him new audiences. But his reputation took a blow in 1991 -- just before the Oscars ceremony where Depardieu was nominated for Best Actor for Cyrano de Bergerac -- when Time magazine printed an interview where he admitted to rapes during childhood. There was anger in the French government about an alleged conspiracy to deprive him of the Oscar and Depardieu denied having made the remarks, although Time stood by the interview. While Depardieu's other antics -- such as urinating on board a plane in 2011 -- had once drawn laughs, he now became a liability for film studios. Pleading before the court of public opinion in an open letter in 2023, he swore that he was "neither a rapist nor a predator". "I've been provocative, excessive, sometimes crude throughout my life... If when I thought I was living intensely in the present moment, I have hurt or shocked anyone at all, I never meant to do harm and I apologise," Depardieu wrote. The father-of-three, whose son Guillaume died in 2008, has undergone a quadruple heart bypass and suffers from diabetes that has been aggravated by the stress of the trial, according to his lawyer. In 2013, he received a Russian passport personally from President Vladimir Putin. But he has criticised Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Depardieu in Cyrano de Bergerac AFP Depardieu was once full of praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin AFP
