2023-12-27 01:19:24
The column in support of Gérard Depardieu, signed by 56 personalities from the world of culture at the initiative of an actor and editorialist, was validated by the actor himself before its publication in Le Figaro.
After several weeks of political and media controversy, around sixty personalities from the world of culture signed, this Monday, December 25, a forum in the Figaro denouncing the “lynching” of Gérard Depardieu.
The “last sacred monster” of cinema – targeted by three complaints for rape and sexual assault, indicted in one of the cases and at the heart of a scandal following a documentary broadcast on France 2 – faces the torrent of hatred which is poured on his person, without nuance, in the most complete amalgam and in defiance of a presumption of innocence”, write the signatories.
An actor and editorialist originally
The recent broadcast of a report on the actor, in the show “Complément d’investigation” on France 2, caused a shock wave. In these images, Gérard Depardieu multiplies misogynistic and insulting comments targeting women and even a little girl. The sequence caused reactions even at the highest peak of the state. Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak denounced comments that “put France to shame” while Emmanuel Macron disavowed it by ensuring that he made “France proud”.
In the world of culture, several voices have been raised against the actor. But those close to Gérard Depardieu also spoke in the media to defend him, up to the column published on Christmas Eve.
Nathalie Baye, Carole Bouquet, Charlotte Rampling and Bertrand Blier, Jacques Weber, Pierre Richard and Gérard Darmon are part of the list – decried by feminist associations – of artists brought together at the initiative of Yannis Ezziadi, actor and editorialist for the far-right magazine Causeur.
“I told myself that we could not let the greatest among us be lynched in disregard of the presumption of innocence,” he confided to the Parisian.
Can Depardieu still be protected by French cinema?
Julie Depardieu’s friend then sent his text to “as many” cinema personalities as possible to denounce an “ideology of terror, of witch hunting”. “Many actors refused to sign the text, often for fear of repercussions on their careers,” he says. “Many of them were discouraged by their agents or lawyers.”
He added on BFMTV: “The images from the Complementary Investigation are not a problem. These images made me laugh. They are Gallic jokes.”
Validated by Depardieu himself
Before publication, the column was sent to Gérard Depardieu himself who found it “very beautiful”. “I think it’s very courageous on the part of the signatories (…) So I told its author that he could publish it,” the 74-year-old actor told RTL.
Faced with the indignation of feminist associations or political figures, several signatories took responsibility for their approach. Starting with the actor Michel Fau, who had the idea of the platform and contacted Yannis Ezziadi.
“We were touching the artist,” he explained on BFMTV. “They try to tell us that the artist must be reasonable, a model for society. It’s a completely terrifying discourse. The artist must remain extravagant, scandalous, obscene and unmanageable.”
Nathalie Baye, who has known Gérard Depardieu for a long time and has often shared the stage with him, said on BFMTV that she had “great confidence” in a “terrific actor”. “It’s a kind of lynching that makes journalists earn money. (…) He can say bad words but I know that he is not at all the man that we describe in a way monstrous in the ridiculous celebrity press,” she added.
For his part, Jean-Marie Rouart, member of the French Academy, affirmed on our antenna that he had signed the platform to defend “the Gallic spirit of France”.
An immediately contested platform
The day after the publication of the column, Laurent Boyet, president of the Les Papillons association, which fights against all forms of child abuse, announced that he was withdrawing Pierre Richard his title of ambassador.
“There is an incompatibility between what Gérard Depardieu represents and being an ambassador for a child protection association,” he said on BFMTV.
The platform was experienced as a “spit in the face of the victims” of sexist and sexual violence, according to feminist associations. Emmanuelle Dancourt, co-founder of #MeTooMedias, said she was “devastated”. “I have the impression that there is a misunderstanding when I hear about the torrent of hatred that pours out on Depardieu… There is never revenge (on the part of the complainants, Editor’s note) but a need to protect others,” she stressed on our antenna.
“It’s a spit in the face of the victims of violence,” the “Nous Tous” collective also reacted to AFP. The president of the Feminist Collective against Rape Emmanuelle Piet compared the world of cinema to an “incestuous family” on BFMTV.
#actor #support #platform #signed #artists