Gerard Depardieu has requested for the postponement of his sexual assault trial scheduled to start in Paris on Monday. His attorneys requested for a delay, citing the star’s well being points.
The French actor has been accused of assaulting two girls whereas filming the 2021 movie Les Volets Verts, the nation’s most high-profile #MeToo case.
Prosecutors stated he made sexually express feedback after which aggressively “groped” two members of the movie’s manufacturing staff. If convicted, he may face 5 years in jail.
The 75-year-old has denied the accusations and stated in an open letter revealed final yr that he had by no means “abused girls”.
Proceedings had been scheduled to start on the French capital’s felony courtroom at round 13:30 native time. However his lawyer Jeremie Assous informed French media that the actor had been “severely affected” by the illness and medical doctors had suggested him to not attend the trial.
Assouz added that his shopper requested for a postponement as a result of he “needed to come back and categorical himself in courtroom”.
The trial marks a significant second for France’s #MeToo motion, with Depardieu changing into the highest-profile determine within the French movie trade to face sexual assault accusations. The unnamed girls stated Depardieu made sexual feedback to them. They stated he additionally “violently grabbed” and “groped” them.
Depardieu’s attorneys accused the ladies of “false accusations.” He additionally claimed that one of many girls was making an attempt to “make cash” by demanding 30,000 euros ($32,500; £25,000) in compensation, Le Monde reported.
For the reason that allegations surfaced, Depardieu has grow to be a digital pariah. He has not appeared in movies since 2022 and faces a second trial subsequent yr on costs of raping actress Charlotte Arnold twice in her Paris dwelling. He denies the accusations.
Depardieu has additionally been accused of sexual assault by greater than a dozen different girls.
Regardless of the mounting accusations, the star has obtained an outpouring of help from some members of the French artwork group. A bunch of greater than 50 actors, administrators and producers stated in a letter revealed final yr that the fees in opposition to Depardieu had been “an assault on artwork itself.”
The letter, signed by actors Charlotte Rampling, Carole Bouguet, Pierre Richard and singers Carla Bruni and Jacques Dutron, stated they had been “confronted with Lynching” can’t stay silent. [Depardieu]”.
French President Emmanuel Macron additionally induced outrage when he known as the actor “the pleasure of France” final yr. Macron added that Depardieu was “underneath manhunt”. Activists stated the feedback undermined efforts to guard girls from violence.
Actress Léa Seydoux known as Macron’s feedback “loopy,” including that it “offers France a really unhealthy picture.”
Regardless of Macron’s help, then-Tradition Minister Rima Abdel-Malak stated she would act after footage emerged of Depardieu making sexual feedback to girls in a 2018 documentary he shot in North Korea. Contemplate revoking Depardieu’s Legion of Honor medal.
