French actor Gerard Depardieu’s actions towards females arrived below renewed scrutiny in France following a documentary showed him consistently making obscene remarks and gestures all through a 2018 vacation to North Korea.
The footage, filmed by a experienced crew that protected Depardieu’s pay a visit to in the course of the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s development, was included in an investigative documentary that aired Thursday on national Tv channel France 2. It had under no circumstances been demonstrated in advance of to the public. Some excerpts immediately went viral on the social media.
Depardieu, 74, is among the France’s most nicely-identified stars. He was set less than investigation in December 2020 for rape and sexual assault, reportedly at his Paris house, following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould in 2018. The investigation is ongoing.
Depardieu has denied any felony perform.
In the video recorded in North Korea by an unnamed movie creation corporation, Depardieu can be seen generating groaning appears and sexual comments in entrance of girls, which include about a 10-calendar year previous lady. He can also be viewed posing for a photo although declaring he was “touching the bottom” of a North Korean interpreter by his side.
The documentary also features French comedian Helene Darras, who accused Depardieu of touching her bottom when she was a youthful more for the 2008 movie “Disco.” The Paris prosecutor’s business office reported Thursday that Darras filed a criticism in opposition to Depardieu in September for alleged sexual assault.
In a temporary cell phone connect with with the journalists who labored on the documentary, Depardieu mentioned, “This complete thing is deeply bothering me” and declined an interview offer you.
He printed an open letter in French newspaper Le Figaro newspaper in Oct that claimed, “I want to explain to you the truth of the matter. I have never ever, at any time abused a female.”
About Arnould’s rape accusation, Depardieu wrote, “There has never ever been any coercion, violence or protest.”
The Oscar nominee died peacefully with his loving crew by his side, his son Patrick O’Neal reported.
“All my lifestyle, I have been provocative, outgoing, sometimes impolite. … I under no circumstances meant to do any harm, and I apologize for behaving like a boy or girl hoping to entertain the group. But I’m not a rapist nor a predator,” he stated in the open letter.
Movie director Fabien Onteniente, who worked with Depardieu on “Disco,” said in a Friday job interview with French broadcaster France Info that he did not witness any misconduct by the actor at the time. On the other hand, he explained he “saw something” a few a long time afterwards whilst creating a different film with Depardieu.
“So I had a private discussion with him. I informed him that it’s inadmissible.” Onteniente said. The director did not give any information about the alleged misbehavior but stated he made a decision not to do any a lot more assignments with Depardieu.
Movie director Marc Missonier suggests in the documentary that he experienced earlier listened to about the “inappropriate attitude” of Depardieu.
“We can say that the French cinema earth didn’t overlook the problematic habits of Gerard Depardieu,” he mentioned, including that the actor’s “status” as a globe-popular star experienced once protected him.
French investigative information website Mediapart before this 12 months revealed facts saying that Depardieu has been accused of harassing, groping or sexually assaulting 13 young gals.
The France 2 documentary statements the selection of accusers now stands at 16.
French women’s activism team Osez le feminisme, or Dare Feminism, denounced “rape culture” and expressed its support to Arnould and other folks ladies affected by Depardieu’s alleged misconduct. The group, which takes advantage of the hashtag #balancetonporc, which in English roughly translates to “squeal on your pig”, has broadly been considered as supporting to produce France’s version of the #MeToo motion.
