The allegations against French actor Gérard Depardieu (74) continue. It has now been announced that a Spanish journalist has also filed a complaint against the film star for rape. As the newspaper “Le Monde” reports, citing the AFP news agency, among others, Ruth Baza (51) claims that Depardieu raped her in Paris almost 30 years ago. She herself says that she filed a complaint with the Spanish police on Thursday.
The alleged assault took place on October 12, 1995 during an interview for the magazine “Cinemania,” according to the accusation. The Spanish newspaper “La Vanguardia” also reports on the complaint, which is said to have been received by the authorities in Barcelona. The Spanish news agency EFE also confirmed that a corresponding report had been submitted to the responsible authorities. Baza, who was 23 at the time, was raped by Depardieu, who was 46 at the time, “without any consent.” She felt “paralyzed”.
The incident is said to have occurred on the premises of the former production company Roissy Film. Apparently Baza initially spoke of a “sexual assault”, but when the officers asked whether she had also been raped, she said yes. “The police labeled it as such,” Baza told AFP.
Baza is not alone in her allegations against Depardieu. There have been a number of allegations against Depardieu in recent years, including previous accusations of rape and sexual violence. A television documentary has also just aired in France in which, according to media reports, he can be seen making offensive comments about women during a trip to North Korea in 2018. Depardieu has denied all allegations.
“Of course we are often shocked by Gérard’s comments,” but Depardieu is “the target of an unprecedented conspiracy,” wrote several members of his family, including his daughter, the actress Julie Depardieu (50), in an article in the Sunday newspaper “Le Journal du Dimanche” published letter. They complained of a “collective anger” against the actor and declared that “in private, around his children, he is an extremely modest, sensitive and even prudish person.”
