Current:Home > Invest56 French stars defend actor Gerard Depardieu despite sexual misconduct allegations-LoTradeCoin
56 French stars defend actor Gerard Depardieu despite sexual misconduct allegations
View Date:2024-12-24 08:44:57
PARIS (AP) — More than 50 French performers, writers and producers published an essay Tuesday defending film star and national icon Gerard Depardieu amid growing scrutiny of his behavior toward women during his five-decade career. Advocates for sexual abuse victims expressed dismay at the outpouring of support.
Depardieu was handed preliminary rape and sexual assault charges in 2020 following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould, and has been accused by more than a dozen other women of harassing, groping or sexually assaulting them. Depardieu denies wrongdoing, and called the essay ‘’beautiful.’’
Published Tuesday in the conservative-leaning Le Figaro, it was signed by figures including former first lady and singer Carla Bruni, Depardieu’s former partner Carole Bousquet, and actors Pierre Richard, Charlotte Rampling and Victoria Abril. Two dozen of the 56 signatories were women. Many are from Depardieu’s generation; he is 74.
A recent documentary outlined accusations of sexual misconduct by 16 women against Depardieu, and showed the actor making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea. The France-2 documentary prompted calls by some to stop airing Depardieu’s films, which include classics of modern French cinema.
In response, Tuesday’s essay says: ’’We cannot remain silent in the face of the lynching targeting him, the torrent of hate being dumped on his personality.
‘’When Gerard Depardieu is targeted this way, it is the art (of cinema) that is being attacked,’’ it said. ‘’France owes him so much. ... Depriving ourselves of this immense actor would be a drama, a defeat. The death of the art. Our art.’’
Paris lawmaker and feminist Raphaëlle Rémy-Leleu said the signatories are experiencing a ‘’denial of reality.’’ She said she would have preferred for them to support initiatives against sexual violence instead.
’’They are refusing to see what this man did … because he is an artist,″ she told broadcaster France-Info.
Emmanuelle Dancourt, whose #MeTooMedia group supports sexual misconduct victims in the media industry, said on BFM television that the essay’s message is particularly painful for victims of sexual abuse by powerful men.
French President Emmanuel Macron also drew ire when he said last week that Depardieu ’’makes France proud.″
The recent documentary includes a segment where Depardieu is heard making crude sexual comments about a young girl riding a horse. Macron suggested that the segment could have been edited in a misleading way. France Televisions, which broadcast the documentary, later said that the segment in question was authenticated by a bailiff who viewed the raw footage.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Solawave Black Friday Sale: Don't Miss Buy 1, Get 1 Free on Age-Defying Red Light Devices
- Takeaways from AP’s investigation into sexual harassment and assault at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station
- Why the Duck Dynasty Family Retreated From the Spotlight—and Are Returning on Their Own Terms
- Tyga Responds After Blac Chyna Files Custody Case for Son King Cairo
- Are Dancing with the Stars’ Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber Living Together? She Says…
- Novak Djokovic's results at US Open have been different from other Grand Slams: Here's why
- FIFA suspends Spain president Luis Rubiales, federation accuses player of lying about kiss
- Environmental groups recruit people of color into overwhelmingly white conservation world
- Quincy Jones' cause of death revealed: Reports
- On the March on Washington's 60th anniversary, watch how CBS News covered the Civil Rights protest in 1963
Ranking
- Deebo Samuel explains 'out of character' sideline altercation with 49ers long snapper, kicker
- Chris Buescher wins NASCAR's regular-season finale, Bubba Wallace claims last playoff spot
- From tarantulas to tigers, watch animals get on the scale for London Zoo's annual weigh-in
- College football Week 0 winners and losers: Caleb Williams, USC offense still nasty
- Nearly 80,000 pounds of Costco butter recalled for missing 'Contains Milk statement': FDA
- UK flights are being delayed and canceled as a ‘technical issue’ hits air traffic control
- Texas judge blocks state's upcoming ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors
- Ryan Reynolds ditches the trolling to celebrate wife Blake Lively in a sweet birthday post
Recommendation
-
Quincy Jones' cause of death revealed: Reports
-
Ryan Preece provides wildest Daytona highlight, but Ryan Blaney is alive and that's huge
-
Bob Barker Dead at 99: Adam Sandler, Drew Carey and Others Honor Late Price Is Right Host
-
Man killed, several injured in overnight shooting in Louisville
-
NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bobby Allison dies at 86
-
Police say man has died after being assaulted, then falling from Portsmouth parking garage
-
How one Pennsylvania school bus driver fostered a decades-long bond with hundreds of students
-
Louisiana refinery fire mostly contained but residents worry about air quality