Film star Depardieu seeks postponement of trial in sexual assault case due to health problems

Released: 28.10.2024 – 09:31

2 min

Depardieu’s trial on charges of sexually assaulting two women while filming a film begins this Monday, with numerous further complaints and a possible second trial already awaiting.

Depardieu, 75, was expected to appear at the criminal court hearing, which starts at 1:30 p.m., but his lawyer Jeremy Assou said he would be absent for health reasons and would ask for an adjournment.

Speaking on French radio on Monday morning, Assou said his client would not be present but “wants the truth to come out”.

“(Depardieu) is extremely upset and unfortunately his doctors have told him not to attend the hearing, so he will ask for the hearing to be adjourned to a later date so he can attend,” Assou explained.

The actor is the most prominent figure to face accusations in French cinema’s version of the #MeToo movement, sparked by the 2017 allegations against American producer Harvey Weinstein.

The names of the two women accusing Depardieu of abuse during the filming of the 2021 film have not been released.

“False accusations”

One of the plaintiffs, a decorator who is now 55, said in February that she was sexually assaulted, sexually harassed and subjected to sexist slurs while filming director Jean Becker’s film Les Volet Verts (Green Shutters) at a private home in Paris. .

“I expect that the justice system will be the same for everyone and that Monsieur Depardieu will not receive special treatment just because he is an artist,” the plaintiff’s lawyer, Karine Durieu-Dibole, told reporters.

A second plaintiff in Monday’s case – an assistant director on the same film – also alleges sexual assault.

Assou said Depardieu’s defense would provide “witnesses and evidence that will show that he was simply the subject of false accusations.”

He accused one of the plaintiffs of trying to “make money” by demanding compensation of 30,000 euros.

“Hiring an Assailant”

Anouk Greenberg, an actor who starred in Green Shutters, said Depardieu used “indecent words… from morning to evening.”

“When the producers hired Depardieu to work on the film, they knew they were hiring an attacker,” she added.

Greenberg said that in her experience, Depardieu “has always used sexual, obscene language” but his behavior has become “much, much worse, with the permission of his profession, which pays him for it and covers up his crimes.”

About 20 women accused Depardieu of various crimes of a sexual nature.

Actress Charlotte Arnoux was the first to file a criminal complaint.

A judge has not yet ruled on prosecutors’ August request that Depardieu stand trial for raping and sexually assaulting her.

Paris is also under investigation after a former production assistant accused Depardieu of sexual assault in 2014.

“Never, but never have I insulted a woman,” Depardieu wrote in an open letter published in the conservative daily Le Figaro last October.

A few weeks later, President Emmanuel Macron shocked feminists by complaining of “persecution” of Depardieu, whom he called “an outstanding actor” who was “making France proud.”

Macron’s statements followed the broadcast of an investigative television show in which Depardieu repeatedly made misogynistic and offensive remarks towards women.