PARIS (AFP) – French star actor Gerald Despardou told a Paris court on Tuesday that he had no habit of “groping” women, calling the #MeToo movement “a terrifying rule.”
“I don't know why I'm groping women, butt clubs, breasts. I'm not the one who rubs myself with others on the metro,” he said in his first statement at trial.
Depardieu said he “is not” in response to the accusation, adding that “there is an evil that is alien to me.”
Depardieu, 76, who has appeared in more than 200 films and television series, has been accused of inappropriate behavior by around 20 women, but this is the first case he has been brought to trial.
“I deny it all,” he told the court on Tuesday.
He has described him as the best in the French film's response to the #MeToo movement, which told the court on Tuesday that it would “be a terrifying rule.”
“I'm in a bad mood”
The trial is linked to accusations of sexual assault during filming the 2021 “Les Volets Vers” (The Green Shotters), directed by Jean Becker.
Anouk Grinberg, a well-known actor who appeared in the film, supported the two plaintiffs. 54 set dressers, Amelie and 34-year-old assistant director. Both women advocate sexual violence.
Explaining the event during filming, Depardieu told the court, “It was Friday, it was hot, it was humid. I was 150 kilos (331 pounds) and I was in a bad mood.”
He grabbed her by her hips after a heated discussion about Amelie and set options, but said that “so I don't slip.”
Testimony after Depardieu, Amelie said Depardieu was actually acting like a “wild animal” and said, “it wasn't exactly the same guy here today.”
He was “constantly speaking about women,” she said, including their outfits.
She repeated the account she first reported in February last year about how she suffered sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexist insults during the filming in September 2021.
She boasts that Despardieu can “give women an orgasm without touching them,” and he says he “grabs her.”
The actor groped her hips and stomach, then continued up to her chest and secured her by “closing her legs” around her, she added.
She also said Depardieu made “indecent remarks.”
“What does Salaz mean?”
Asked why she didn't come forward immediately, Amelie said: “I didn't want to talk about it, I felt humiliated. I had a great run professionally, so I knew that if I filed a police report, it would be the end of the film.”
Grinberg previously said Depardieu was constantly making “despicable remarks” during filming, and told AFP that the producers who hired him know that they would “hire abusers.”
However, Depardieu challenged accusations of using dirty language.
“What does “embarrassing” mean? Are you going to say “cat”? But I always say “cats.”
The trial, originally scheduled for October 2024, was postponed due to the health of the actor.
His lawyer said at the time, Depardieu had undergone cardiac bypass surgery and suffered from diabetes, which was exacerbated by the stress of future trials.
Depardieu became a French star since the 1980s, playing roles in “The Last Metro”, “Police” and “Cyrano de Bergerac.”
He later joined global productions, including Kenneth Branagh's “Hamlet,” Anne Lee's “Life of Life,” and Netflix's “Marseille” series.
