Gérard Depardieu denies sexual assault allegations: "I'm not a groper."
The actor admits to having physical contact with one of the complainants and says that during filming, "he is usually rude."
BarcelonaFrench actor Gérard Depardieu returned to court on Tuesday, where he denied committing the sexual assaults of which he is accused. "I don't see why I should enjoy groping a woman on a film set. I'm not a groper. There are many vices that I truly don't know," the actor said, in statements reported by the Efe news agency. Depardieu is accused of having committed sexual assault and sexual harassment in 2021, during the filming of The green shutters, against two workers (a decorator and an assistant director) on the film. The actor faces up to five years in prison and a €75,000 fine.
According to the two complainants, the attacks took place in September 2021 in a Paris apartment where the film was being shot. The first lawsuit accuses Depardieu of cornering one of the workers on the set, pinning her down with his legs, and groping her buttocks, pelvis, and breasts. According to the plaintiff, the actor told her: "Come touch my big umbrella, I'll stick it up your pussy." Regarding this comment, the actor admitted that he is usually rude on set and acknowledged having physical contact with the complainant, but denied sexually assaulting her. He also argued that at the time he weighed 150 kilos and that it would have been impossible for him, given the size of his belly, to pin someone down with his legs.
Depardieu has said he criticized the employee because he didn't have the set ready for filming and that during filming he apologized—in front of other colleagues—for having questioned her professionally. Regarding the comment about the umbrella, the actor explained that the employee was looking for it and that he told her she could "shove it up her ass" because "he didn't give a shit."
After the second day of the trial, and given that the first day was very long with preliminary questions, the judges have decided that the next witnesses will testify tomorrow morning. Depardieu has also requested hearings limited to six hours with breaks in between due to his problems with hypertension and diabetes.
