So far, numerous allegations of sexual assault have been made against Gérard Depardieu (75) – even the specific accusation of rape had little impact on him. The actor, who is something of a living world cultural heritage in France, has continued his career almost unmolested in recent years. But that could now be over. According to the Paris public prosecutor’s office, Depardieu will have to stand trial in October this year. On Monday (April 29, 2024) he had to appear at a police station and was even temporarily in custody. After questioning he was released again.
According to French media reports, there are two cases from 2014 and 2021. He is said to have groped female employees on the set of the films “Le magicien et les siamois” and “Les Volets Verts”. An investigation into an alleged rape has also been ongoing since 2020. It is still unclear whether charges will be brought here too.
In total, over a dozen women have accused the film star of sexual violence in recent months and years. But so far almost nothing has stuck to him. Just as after previous scandals without a sexual background – from urinating in the aisle of an airplane in 2011 to tax evasion in Putin’s Russia in 2013. At least the Frenchman distanced himself from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and donated to Ukrainian war victims. He repeatedly attracted attention because of his strange behavior, which was mainly due to his heavy consumption of alcohol. In a 2014 interview, he revealed that he drinks 14 bottles of wine a day. He also said that he had already had a total of 17 motorcycle accidents – some of them while drunk.
However, Gérard Depardieu has always publicly denied the allegations of sexual harassment. In an open letter in the newspaper “Le Figaro” in autumn 2023, he described himself as the victim of a “media lynching”. He was neither a rapist nor a predator. “I am just a man,” he wrote. Whatever that means.
Colleagues like Charlotte Rambling (78) and former First Lady Carla Bruni (56) defended the “probably greatest of all actors”. Even French President Emmanuel Macron (46) came out as a “big admirer” of Depardieu despite all the scandals. In an interview, he rightly asserted the presumption of innocence for the film star, but between the lines he also hinted at special treatment for the national shrine Depardieu. Macron later publicly backtracked after massive criticism.
The reason for the intensification of the culture war surrounding the actor was a documentary about his trip through North Korea. In it you can hear how Depardieu almost compulsively sexualizes almost all the women he meets. He even made a sexist joke about a young girl on a horse. At least some institutions reacted to the new development: Madame Tussauds, for example, removed its wax figure from the exhibition.
If Gérard Depardieu were found guilty in court, an undoubtedly great career would come to an end. The actor came from the bottom. He grew up in poor conditions in Châteauroux in central France; his parents could neither read nor write. In his autobiography he reported that at the age of ten he earned a few francs as a hustler. He repeatedly came into conflict with the law because of theft and smuggling. “I’m still the little rowdy from Châteauroux who does good business,” he said later when asked about his seemingly arbitrary choice of roles.
After visiting the theater in Paris, the young Depardieu decided to become an actor. He graduated from the École d’Art Dramatique and got his start in the theater. In 1975 he received his first César nomination for the film “Quartett Bestial”. He was nominated for the most important French film award a total of 16 times – a lonely record. He worked with the most important directors of the Nouvelle Vague, for example with François Truffauts (“The Last Metro”), but also made many popular films such as the “Asterix” adaptations as Obelix.
Around 1990, Depardieu also took off outside of France after receiving an Oscar nomination for his leading role in “Cyrano of Bergerac.” In “Green Card” he played alongside Andie MacDowell (66) and for Ridley Scott (86) he played Columbus in “1492”.
Depardieu is now only filming in his homeland again. In addition to a lot of dozens of items, there were quite large roles like those in “Maigret” in 2022. The detective written by the Belgian George Simeon is, like his actor, an icon in the French-speaking world. Gérard Depardieu’s last major international film was “Welcome in New York” ten years ago. In it he played a businessman inspired by Dominique Strauss-Kahn (75), who sees women as fair game and stumbles upon a sex scandal. Today the role seems like a foretelling.