Gerard Depardieu asks to postpone the trial for sexual assault for health reasons

Gerard Depardieu has asked for a postponement of his sexual assault trial set to begin in Paris on Monday, citing health reasons.

According to the French news agency AFP, Depardieu’s lawyer, Jeremie Assous, told FranceInfo that the actor is “extremely affected and unfortunately his doctors have prohibited him from being present at the hearing.”

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Assous continued that Depardieu “will ask for a postponement to a later date in order to attend.” His trial was due to begin on Monday at 1:30 p.m. Paris time.

Depardieu’s lawyer did not immediately respond to VarietyRequest for further comments.

Depardieu is on trial for two alleged sexual assaults, dating back to the filming of Jean Becker’s “The Green Shutters” (“Les volets verts”) in the south of France in August and September 2021. He was taken into police custody earlier of this year. year on April 29 and was summoned to appear in criminal court on Monday. According to the charges, Depardieu, long considered a mascot of French cinematic history and who has starred in more than 150 films, including classics such as Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s “Cyrano de Bergerac,” risks five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros.

In a letter sent to the prosecutor on February 23, Amelie K., who worked as a set designer on “The Green Shutters,” accused Depardieu of having sexually assaulted and harassed her on September 10, 2021, during filming. Amelie K said she overheard Depardieu make several rude comments, and alleges that one day, as she walked past him sitting in a hallway, he grabbed her, pulled her toward him, blocked her with his legs, and massaged her waist, legs, and legs. hips and chest, while making obscene comments.

She added that she was helped by two colleagues while Depardieu left the scene accompanied by his bodyguards. After reporting the incident to the production director, Depardieu was asked to apologize to her, but instead made hostile comments about her for the remainder of filming.

“The plaintiff explained that it took her some time to decide to file a complaint, but she was surprised to hear on television that there had never been any incidents during filming. “She added that she was not the only one who had been sexually assaulted,” said a spokesperson for the Paris Prosecutor’s Office in a statement obtained by Variety.

A second woman, Engela W., who worked as Becker’s assistant on “The Green Shutters,” accused Depardieu of sexually assaulting her on August 31. She filed a complaint on March 21 of this year and alleged that Depardieu had touched her buttocks. on the street, then touched her breasts a few days later at the location and touched her buttocks again on another occasion. After expressing her refusal to be touched, she added that Depardieu had begun to insult her. She reported the incident to her family the same day.

Variety has contacted Depardieu’s lawyer, Jérémie Assous, to comment on the outcome of the trial. Depardieu has previously denied all charges. In a statement sent to Variety Before the trial, Assous said, “the witnesses and evidence he will present will demonstrate that he is simply the target of false accusations.” Assous also stated that the “true intention has just been revealed through the civil parties’ compensation demands: to gain financially, ranging between 6,000 and 30,000 euros.”

As part of a separate case, the famous 75-year-old French actor has been charged, since December 16, 2020, with accusations of rape and sexual assault made by actress Charlotte Arnould in 2018.

In August, the Paris prosecutor’s office requested in a final indictment that Depardieu be referred to the departmental criminal court to stand trial for rape by digital penetration and sexual assault that allegedly occurred on August 7 and 13, 2018. The investigating judge Now you have to decide what direction to take with the procedure.

Another sexual assault complaint filed last year by actress Helene Darras, who accused Depardieu of groping her and propositioning her during the filming of a film in 2007, has since been withdrawn because it is time-barred.

In April last year, 13 women accused the actor of sexually inappropriate behavior in a report published by French investigative news website Médiapart. Depardieu vehemently denied all the accusations and in October wrote a letter to the newspaper Le Figaro in which he stated: “I have never abused a woman.”

After having triggered a decisive moment for the #MeToo movement in France, Depardieu, who until 2022 was still looking for roles, has seen his career come to an end. In recent years, he appears to have acted only in a small Italian horror film called “Twins,” which is in post-production.

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