Gérard Depardieu: dozens of celebrities denounce
‘lynching’ of French actor
Signatories of open letter include Charlotte Rampling,
Carole Bouquet, and former French first lady and singer Carla Bruni
Agence
France-Presse
Wed 27 Dec
2023 04.30 CET
Nearly 60
French actors and other prominent figures have denounced the “lynching” of
disgraced film legend Gérard Depardieu, who is charged with rape and is facing
other sexual assault claims.
An open
letter signed by British actor Charlotte Rampling, former French first lady and
singer Carla Bruni, and Depardieu’s former partner, actor Carole Bouquet,
claims the star is the victim of a “torrent of hatred”.
“Gérard
Depardieu is probably the greatest of all actors,” added the letter published
in French newspaper Le Figaro on Christmas Day.
Depardieu,
who has made more than 200 films and television series, was charged with rape
in 2020 and has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by more than a
dozen women.
Despite no
court ruling against him, many have rushed to distance themselves from the
actor in recent days.
In the
letter, his supporters wrote, “We can no longer remain silent in the face of
the lynching he is facing.”
The letter
said Depardieu was being attacked “in defiance of a presumption of innocence
from which he would have benefited, like everyone else, if he weren’t the
cinema giant he is.”
Depardieu –
who turns 75 on Wednesday – called the signatories “courageous” and praised the
letter.
“I thought
it was beautiful,” he told broadcaster RTL by phone.
Depardieu
admitted he had been shown the letter before its publication but insisted he
had not asked for it. He also said that a number of figures refused to sign it.
The actor
faces fresh scrutiny over sexually explicit comments including one about a
young girl riding a horse during a 2018 trip to North Korea that were broadcast
for the first time in a documentary on national television this month.
“When
people attack Gérard Depardieu in this way, they are attacking art,” the letter
said.
“France
owes him so much. Cinema and theatre cannot do without his unique and
extraordinary personality,” the celebrities said.
“Nobody can
erase the indelible imprint of his work on our times.”
Last week
French president Emmanuel Macron said Depardieu had become the target of a
“manhunt”, while his family has denounced an “unprecedented conspiracy” against
him.
Rights
activists condemned Macron’s comments as an “insult” to all women who have
suffered sexual violence. Politicians have also called Macron out, including
former French president François Hollande.
Monday’s
letter, titled “Don’t erase Gérard Depardieu”, sparked a new wave of
indignation.
Laurent
Boyet, founder of Les Papillons, a group that fights violence against children,
said the letter was “indecent” and added that the organisation was dropping one
of the signatories, actor Pierre Richard, as its ambassador.
“We are and
always will be on the side of the victims,” Boyet said.
Anne-Cecile
Mailfert, head of the Women’s Foundation, told AFP that “no one is above the
law”, while activist Emmanuelle Dancourt, of the MeTooMedias group, said she
was “saddened” and “appalled” by the letter.
But she
also said she understood how Depardieu’s friends felt they had to defend him.
“The people
who do this are our friends, our fathers, our husbands, our neighbours, our
colleagues, people we know,” she said.
Culture
minister Rima Abdul Malak has said the actor might be stripped of the Legion of
Honour, the country’s top award.
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