Gérard Depardieu Taken Into Police Custody to Face Questioning Over Sexual Assault Allegations

French actor Gérard Depardieu was taken into police custody today, Monday, April 29, in Paris, France, where he will face questioning over accusations of sexual assault.

As reported by CNN, the prolific actor presented himself at a police station in Paris on Monday morning. He is being questioned regarding accusations of sexual assault by two women alleged to have taken place on film sets.

This comes after French investigative news website Médiapart published a report in April 2023 detailing claims from 13 women of Depardieu’s alleged sexually inappropriate behavior. The accusations were linked to several films and TV series between 2004 and 2022 and included cases of groping, obscene comments, and inappropriate acts while on set.

At the time, Depardieu’s lawyers said the Oscar-nominated actor denied any criminal behavior and also stated that the Médiapart report appeared to be based on “very subjective assessments and/or moral judgments.”

In an open letter published last year, Depardieu vehemently denied the claims, writing, “Never, ever have I abused a woman. Hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach.”

The current police questioning is related to events on the sets of Jean-Pierre Mocky’s Le Magicien et les Siamois in 2014 and Jean Becker’s The Green Shutters (Volets Verts) in 2021.

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Gérard Depardieu Accused of Sexually Inappropriate Behavior By 13 Women

Speaking to broadcaster BFMTV, a lawyer representing the woman in the 2021 incident alleges that her client was “passing through a corridor where Mr Depardieu was sitting. He grabbed her, trapped her between his legs, and touched her body up to her breasts.”

“She felt completely powerless, incapable of escaping this trap,” the statement continued.

Depardieu, who is known for his roles in Green Card, Life of Pi, and the TV series Marseille, had previously been charged with rape in 2020 after French actress Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping and sexually assaulting her twice at his Paris mansion in 2018. The case remains open.