French actor Gerard Depardieu, who is currently facing charges of rape and s**ual assault in a separate case from 2018, has now been accused of s**ual misconduct by 13 women in a recent investigative report published by Mediapart.
According to the report, the allegations were made by female actors, make-up artists, and production staff who claim that the incidents occurred during the filming of 11 movies released between 2004 and 2022.
Some of the accusers chose to remain anonymous, while one actress has provided her account to the French justice system.
Despite the seriousness of the accusations, none of the 13 women have taken legal action against Depardieu, as confirmed by the Paris prosecutor’s office in a statement given to Variety.
“The prosecutor has not received any new lawsuit.
A formal investigation, launched in 2020 following the lawsuit filed by Charlotte Arnaud, is still ongoing,” the statement clarified.
In response to the allegations, Depardieu’s legal representation, Cabinet Temime, vehemently denied all the claims.
They released a detailed statement stating that the actor has no intention of addressing the article, which they believe combines various unrelated subjects along with subjective assessments and moral judgments.
The statement continued, “He formally denies all of the accusations that could be subject to criminal law.”
One of the accounts featured in the report came from a former extra who worked on the film “The Box” in 2015.
She claimed that Depardieu had put his hand under her dress and attempted to s**ually assault her.
When she resisted, he allegedly became aggressive and tried to force himself upon her.
The shoot for “The Box” was reportedly interrupted after another extra informed the production team that she had also been a victim of Depardieu’s misconduct.
The scene was subsequently altered so that the extra was no longer in close proximity to Depardieu.
Additionally, an actor who worked on the same film recalled hearing Depardieu shouting derogatory remarks about another actress.
The investigative report also highlighted an incident that allegedly took place during the filming of “Disco,” directed by Fabien Onteniente.
According to one of the extras, Depardieu grabbed her waist and made inappropriate advances, suggesting they go to his dressing room.
However, Onteniente and several other directors and producers who had worked with Depardieu on the mentioned film sets denied witnessing any such behavior.
It is worth noting that Depardieu was indicted on December 16, 2020, in connection with rape and s**ual assault allegations from a 2018 lawsuit filed by Charlotte Arnould.
The case was initially dropped in 2019 due to insufficient evidence but was reopened in 2020, resulting in criminal charges being brought against Depardieu in December.
Currently, no custody measures have been taken against the actor.
