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7NEWS
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Gerard Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault by French court
A Paris court has found actor Gerard Depardieu guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set and handed him an 18-month suspended sentence, with the judge saying he appeared not to have grasped the 'traumatic' impact of his behaviour. In the highest-profile #MeToo case to come before judges in France, Depardieu repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer said he would appeal the court's decision. Depardieu, 76, was a towering figure in French cinema, starring in more than 200 films over five decades, including Green Card, The Last Metro and Cyrano de Bergerac. His trial marked a moment of reckoning for the #MeToo protest movement over sexual violence, which has failed to gain the same traction in France as in the United States, although there are signs that social attitudes are changing. One of the two plaintiffs, Amelie K, a set decorator now aged 54, told the court the actor had groped her all over her body as he trapped her between his legs and made explicit sexual comments on set in 2021. 'I was terrified, he was laughing,' she recounted. Depardieu, who denied sexual assault, had argued before the court that he did not consider placing a hand on a person's buttocks sexual assault and that some women were too easily shocked. Handing down his sentence, the presiding judge, Thierry Donard, said of Depardieu: 'He does not seem to have grasped either the concept of consent or the deleterious and traumatic consequences of his behaviour towards the women he assaulted.' He ordered Depardieu, who was not in court for the verdict, to be put on a list of sex offenders. Depardieu has figured prominently in the debate over the #MeToo movement in France, as he faced a growing number of sexual assault allegations that put a spotlight on how women are treated in the movie industry. Prosecutors say he should face trial in a separate rape investigation following allegations brought by actress Charlotte Arnould, 29, who said she could not bear remaining silent any longer. More than a dozen women have accused Depardieu of sexual violence, though not all have filed complaints. Depardieu has consistently denied wrongdoing. 'Never, absolutely never, have I abused a woman,' he wrote in an open letter in the daily Le Figaro newspaper in October 2023. The Depardieu trial laid bare a generational divide in France over sexism. Earlier during the investigation, a group of 50 French stars, including Carla Bruni, wife of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, denounced what they called the 'lynching' of Depardieu. Brigitte Bardot, 90, told BFM TV this week that 'those who have talent and grope a girl get thrown into the gutter'. Women's rights campaigners say they have seen a shift in attitudes in France — notably following the case of Gisele Pelicot whose ex-husband was convicted last year of inviting dozens of men to rape her after drugging her unconscious. 'It's truly a victory and a step forward. We're making progress,' Amelie K. told reporters after the verdict.
Local France
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
Prosecutors ask for 18-months suspended jail for French actor Depardieu
The lead prosecutor, in a closing statement, also asked for Depardieu to be fined €20,000 and pay damages to the plaintiffs, two women who accuse him of sexual assault during the filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) by director Jean Becker. The plaintiffs are a set dresser, 54, identified only as Amelie, and a 34-year-old assistant director. Depardieu, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, has been accused of improper behaviour by around 20 women but this is the first case to come to trial. Advertisement The 76-year-old is the highest-profile figure to face accusations in French cinema's response to the #MeToo movement, which he told the court on Tuesday would become "a reign of terror". Depardieu has denied any wrongdoing. "I'm vulgar, rude, foul-mouthed, I'll accept that," he told the court on Wednesday, but "I don't touch." 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. The court is to hear the defence's closing statement next.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Prosecutors ask for 18-months suspended jail for French actor Depardieu
Prosecutors in the sexual abuse trial of Gerard Depardieu on Thursday recommended a suspended jail sentence of 18 months for the French star actor. The lead prosecutor, in a closing statement, also asked for Depardieu to be fined 20,000 euros ($21,500) and pay damages to the plaintiffs, two women who accuse him of sexual assault during the filming in 2021 of "Les Volets Verts" ("The Green Shutters") by director Jean Becker. The plaintiffs are a set dresser, 54, identified only as Amelie, and a 34-year-old assistant director. Depardieu, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, has been accused of improper behaviour by around 20 women but this is the first case to come to trial. The 76-year-old is the highest-profile figure to face accusations in French cinema's response to the #MeToo movement, which he told the court on Tuesday would become "a reign of terror". Depardieu has denied any wrongdoing. "I'm vulgar, rude, foul-mouthed, I'll accept that," he told the court on Wednesday, but "I don't touch." 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. The court is to hear the defence's closing statement next. cbr/jh/sbk
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
French actor Ardant defends Depardieu at sexual assault trial
French actor Fanny Ardant on Wednesday defended 76-year-old screen icon Gerard Depardieu at his trial on charges of sexual assault in Paris, saying she had never known him to behave in a "shocking" manner with a woman. Depardieu, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, has been accused of improper behaviour by around 20 women but this is the first case to come to trial. He is the highest-profile figure to face accusations in French cinema's response to the #MeToo movement, which he told the court on Tuesday would 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. "I, Fanny Ardant, have never seen a gesture that I found shocking" from Gerard Depardieu, she said on the third day of his trial, describing him as a "lifelong friend". "I know you can say no to Gerard," the 76-year-old added, pausing on her way out of the courtroom to kiss him. - 'Foul-mouthed' - The 34-year-old plaintiff, who was third assistant director during filming, said Wednesday that Depardieu groped her as she accompanied him from his room to set in the dark, and then on two more occasions. "That night his team wasn't there. We left his room, it was nighttime. And at the end of the road, he put his hand on my bum, he placed it there calmly," she said. She said he then twice touched her breasts and buttocks on two occasions, and she told him "no". The actor said he was never alone on set, always accompanied by a dresser, makeup artist or bodyguard. "I perhaps brushed past her in the corridor, but I didn't touch her. I didn't commit sexual assault, I think sexual assault is more serious than that," he said. Her lawyer asked: "More serious than what?" Depardieu replied: "More serious than a hand on a bum. That is, I didn't put a hand on a bum." "I'm vulgar, rude, foul-mouthed, I'll accept that," he added, but "I don't touch." Depardieu on Tuesday said he was not in the habit of "groping" women. He said he had grabbed Amelie, the set dresser, by the hips but only "so I wouldn't slip". Amelie said that the actor had behaved like a "wild animal". 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. French actor Charlotte Arnould was the first woman to file a criminal complaint against Depardieu in 2018, accusing him of rape. French prosecutors have requested another trial over that case. cbr/ah/sjw/js
Arab News
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Depardieu denies ‘groping' women in France sex abuse trial
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.
