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French actor Gérard Depardieu accused of sexually inappropriate behavior by 13 women in in-depth report published by French investigative news site Mediapart.
Médiapart said the allegations were related to eleven films and series between 2004 and 2022. The productions included the comedy Big housebio photo Dumas and the Netflix crime series Marseille.
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Depardieu’s lawyers at Paris-based law firm Cabinet Temime said some of the accounts appear to be based on “very subjective assessments and/or moral judgements”.
“It formally denies all charges that could fall under criminal law,” the cabinet said in a statement released on behalf of Depardieu to Médiapart.
Deadline has also contacted the Temime cabinet for further comments.
Some directors and producers involved in the productions cited in the report have also issued statements denying any knowledge of Depardieu’s actions.
Médiapart said the findings are the result of an investigation lasting several months, prompted by longstanding rumors and social media reports of Depardieu’s treatment of women.
The 13 accusers join the French actress Charlotte Arnould, who in 2018 had officially denounced the actor for rape.
The actress, whose father was an old friend of the actor, accused Depardieu of raping and sexually assaulting her twice at his Paris villa in the summer of 2018 after she came to him for acting advice.
The case is currently going through French courts after an attempt to have the charges overturned.
“In addition to Charlotte Arnould’s complaint, we have collected 13 testimonies from women who claim to have been subject to sexually inappropriate jokes or proposals by the famous actor, of varying severity,” reads the Mediaport report.
In addition to providing detailed accounts, some of which came from anonymous accusers, the report also exposed a culture within the film and television industry of turning a blind eye to Depardieu’s actions.
“Throughout the different accounts, the same scene seemed to repeat itself. They are actresses, makeup artists and crew members. “They witness having been subjected to a hand on the buttock, between the legs, or on the thighs or stomach; as well as obscene sexual advances and sometimes insistent moans.
The report said these incidents were often dismissed on set with laughter, and the same line when some complained, “Oh ok, it’s just Gérard!”
He also noted that many of the accusers had not come forward at the time of Depardieu’s proceedings, for fear of a backlash that could cause them to stop working.
“An item returns in stories,” wrote the news site. “The asymmetry between, on the one hand, often young and precarious women at the beginning of their careers, and on the other a world-famous actor, whose mere presence sometimes allows the film to be financed.
The publication of the allegations came days after Médiapart editor-in-chief Ewdy Plenel made headlines after it emerged he had filed a rape complaint against director-actress Maïwenn Le Besco, whose costume romance with Johnny DeppJoan of Barry will open Cannes this year.
According to French media, Plenel reported being violently grabbed by the hair and spat on by a lone woman in a restaurant. Service personnel had reportedly identified her as Maïwenn.
Plenel said he never had a personal relationship with Maïwenn.
However, Médiapart has published in-depth reports on allegations of sexual assault against Luc Besson, her ex-husband and father of her firstborn. Besson strongly denied the reports at the time.
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