Gerard Depardieu denies sexual assault as he gives evidence at trial
The 76-year-old French actor has denied any wrongdoing.
French actor Gerard Depardieu has acknowledged that he used crude and heated language around a woman who accuses him of sexual assault and grabbed her hips but denied assaulting her, as he gave evidence for the first time at his trial in Paris.
She told the court that he had behaved “like a madman” who took “pleasure in frightening me”.
The second day of the Paris trial centred on the Oscar-nominated actor’s behaviour during the filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters), where two co-workers allege that he groped them on the set.
The 76-year-old has denied assaulting the women.
But during more than an hour of evidence on Tuesday in a packed Paris court, Depardieu acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualised language with one of the plaintiffs, a 54-year-old set dresser, and grabbed her hips during an on-set argument about the artistic merits of a painting.
Depardieu said he had been in a “bad mood” because the set was hot, which was hard for him because he is overweight.
“I understand perfectly if she’s a bit upset,” he said. “I don’t have to talk like that, get angry like that, voila.”
But he insisted that he is not a sexual predator.
“I’m not touching the butts of women,” Depardieu said.
The actor faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros (£62,000) if convicted. The verdict is not expected immediately after the trial.
The set dresser gave evidence after Depardieu. She described the alleged assault in detail.
She said he grabbed her hips then started “palpating” her behind and “in front, around”. She said he then reached for and grabbed her chest.
“That’s when I had a reflex of ‘My God’. I tried to free myself, I tried to take his hands away, I couldn’t do it,” she said. “He terrified me, he laughed, he looked like a madman.”
“It was very brief, there was no shouting,” she said, adding that she had been too “petrified” to speak and that he was too strong for her to break free. She said someone came and removed Depardieu’s hands from her.
“I saw in his eyes a pleasure in frightening me, that’s what I felt, it’s savagery,” she said. “He terrified me, and that amused him.”
She said Depardieu’s calm and co-operative attitude in court bore no resemblance to his behaviour at work.
“Here, he’s exemplary, he doesn’t move, he’s quiet, he doesn’t make any noise,” she said. “He’s not like that on the film set: He gesticulates, he grunts, he makes remarks to women.”
On the film set “he started saying sexual things, talking about his sexual capabilities”, she told the court.
The second plaintiff, a 34-year-old who worked as an assistant on the film, is yet to testify.
In his evidence, Depardieu said he had noticed that the set dresser had been taken aback by his behaviour and language. He acknowledged that his behaviour can be boorish.
“I’ve always been told I have a Russian nature, I don’t know if it’s because of the drinking or the vulgarity,” he said. “I have said in black and white that I am a disgusting slob.”
