<a href="http://www.time.news/gerard-depardieu-summoned-for-sexual-assault-charges-released-after-arrest-and-interrogation/" title="Gerard Depardieu summoned for sexual assault charges, released after arrest and interrogation”>Gérard Depardieu‘s trial for sexual assault and harassment has been postponed until next year. It should have started yesterday, but the actor did not appear in court. His lawyer, Jérémie Assous, said that the 75-year-old is “extremely troubled” by health problems and that he asked that the proceedings be postponed until he could attend in person.
The condition of the French actress, who has undergone four heart bypasses and suffers from diabetes, would worsen due to the stress of the hearing. The lawyer added that Depardieu would not be able to sit for six hours. Medical certificates from a cardiologist and an endocrinologist were produced, stating that the actor was not fit to appear in court.
When he was informed that one of the alleged victims had traveled as much as four hundred kilometers to be present at the hearing, Assous said that he requested that the trial be postponed in a letter to the court already last Thursday. The lawyers of the two women who accused the actor complained that they faced a fait accompli, and they requested that the actor be examined by a court-appointed doctor and a psychiatrist. But their request was rejected.
There is Depardieu accused of sexually assaulting two women – a production designer and an assistant director – during the filming of the 2021 movie Green Valves (The green shutters), directed by Jean Becker. But the actor, an icon of French cinema, who starred in more than 200 films, denied the accusations. In an open letter published last year, he said: “I have never abused a woman.”
The names of the two women who accused Gérard Depardieu have not been made public. The set designer reported, in February, that she was a victim sexual violence, harassment and sexual abuse during filming of the film. The woman said that the actress was sitting in a corridor and was obstructed, passing by: Depardieu stopped her by stretching out her legs and obstructing her between her thighs, and then he bent her abdomen, breasts and the buttocks. The actor also allegedly sent her unequivocal phrases: “I will put my big umbrella in your sex.” The 53-year-old woman told investigators that she felt locked in a “trap” with “tremendous force” on Depardieu’s part, and that a third person would have to intervene to free her from his clutches.
At that point, to avoid scandals, the film’s staff allegedly pressured the actor to apologisebut he would (according to what witnesses confirmed) have done it reluctantly: “I apologize because I have to apologize…”, he would have said to the set designer, but then, during the filming period, he repeatedly insulted her by calling her a “slut”. The 53-year-old then said that she has been suffering from post-traumatic stress ever since, and is no longer able to work.
The assistant director of the same film reported that he was also a victim of sexual violence.
Depardieu’s lawyer confirmed that the defense will offer “witnesses and evidence that will show that he was simply focused on false accusations”, and accused the woman of trying to enrich themselves by making a claim. 30 thousand euros in compensation.
But also Anouk Grinberg, an actress from Green Valvessaid Depardieu he used “obscene words” “from morning to night” on set.
In total, about 20 women have accused Depardieu of various sexual crimesbut he continues to deny it. The actor is investigated since 2020 regarding the rape and sexual assault of actress Charlotte Arnould: Yesterday she and Anouk Grinberg were outside the courtroom, together with the crowd of people supporting the two alleged victims of violence.