« I was angry and it was hot » – DiePresse.com
Has Gérard Depardieu touched the applicant with sexual intent? He doesn’t believe. The procedure originally only set until Tuesday could extend.
S was a more excited moment: After the elongated start in the harassment process against France’s star actor Gérard Depardieu, the actor first commented on the allegations against him. Yes, he attacked one of the plaintiffs on his hip, said the award -winning film star in the plump courtyard, and gave a touch for the first time. However, this did not happen out of sexual intentions. A plaintiff contradicted.
Depardieu has been on trial in Paris since Monday. It is the first trial against him because of possible sexual attacks. Two women accuse him of having touched them in 2021 during the filming of the film « Les Volets Verts » (the green shutters) by Jean Becker in terms of intimate places. It is a decorator and a director’s assistant. First of all, the court was about the allegations of the decorator.
« I was angry and it was hot, » Depardieu admitted. He had touched the woman so as not to slide off the box on which he sat. He was angry because the woman called a painting that they had talked about. He really doesn’t know why he should have fiddled with a woman.
The then decorateur contradicted Depardieus description. He blocked them with his legs and encompassed them on the hips. « He captures me, he is very strong, he tatters me, » said the applicant. She still has Depardieu’s big face in mind. He said to her: « Take my big parasol, I put it in your pussy right away. »
When asked by the judge, why she only displayed Depardieu three years later, the woman replied: « I didn’t want to talk about it, I felt humiliated ». She was also afraid for her job. « Today I am ashamed of counting to those who have silent, » she said.
Depardieu subsequently stated her lawyer that he contradicted himself – during the investigation he had denied that he had touched the applicant at all.
Depardieu defends itself – and becomes louder
During his hearing, the actor, who appeared in the black suit, was sitting on a box. For more than 25 years he has been suffering from diabetes and cruralgia – painful nerve irritation in the thigh – and osteoarthritis in the lumbar spine. In addition, he had to put a four-time bypass operation on the heart. Depardieu supported his lawyer in the court while walking. For health reasons, the process date originally scheduled in October was postponed.
« At the age of 76 and 130 kilos – do you really think I would afford something like that? » Depardieu replied a little irritated in the courtroom. « I hardly like myself. I don’t touch anyone, neither on the set nor anywhere else. » He couldn’t even touch those he love.
When the judge asks him if he had drunk alcohol on the set, Depardieu reacts more violently: « No, no alcohol! » But the presiding judge hooks: « You spoke of vodka earlier. » Depardieu waves: « No, from water – that’s healthier. »
Depardieu’s defender Jérémie Assouus has been on heavy guns since the start of the process. He wants to prove that the allegations are « completely invented » and are based on lies. After hearing the decorator, the 48-year-old explained that her version did not correspond to the truth. With a view to Depardieu’s statement, he made it clear: « Mr. Depardieu has never admitted the slightest sexual harassment. » He criticized a « climate of fear » that witnesses to make statements in favor of the accused.
Depardieu was once a celebrated star in the French cinema sky. But for years, women have repeatedly spoken to them who accuse him of sexual assault – sometimes anonymous and without the allegations of the judiciary. For the first time, the actor is on the dock. Another procedure could threaten him because the actress Charlotte Arnoade sues him for rape.
Not shot in years
Depardieu complained to court that he hadn’t shot for years. The number of those who support the man known for his coarse words also seems to be smaller. In the current process, the film icon threatens up to five years of liberty and 75,000 euros in fine.
Since the first day of the trial was primarily characterized by debates about formal issues, the procedure originally only set to this day could extend. At first, it was assumed that the judgment will take place on Tuesday. In the meantime, however, the public prosecutor considers it very likely that the judgment will only be made at a later date. (APA)
