Dozens of French performers sign an open letter denouncing the 'lynching' of the 75-year-old actor, who has faced numerous sexual assault allegations during his five-decade career.
- Dec 26, 2023
AceShowbiz - Gerard Depardieu still has his colleagues to support him amid his mounting legal issues. The movie vet has thanked his peers who defended him in an open letter amid rape allegations against him.
The 75-year-old actor, who has denied any wrongdoing, called the signatories "courageous" for speaking up and praised the letter as "beautiful." He told broadcaster RTL by phone, "I thought it was beautiful."
More than 50 French performers, including French singer and former first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and actress Charlotte Rampling, signed the open letter which was published in French newspaper Le Figaro on late Monday, December 25. In the letter, they stated, "We cannot remain silent in the face of the lynching targeting him, the torrent of hate being dumped on his personality."
"When Gerard Depardieu is targeted this way, it is the art [of cinema] that is being attacked," the letter read. "France owes him so much. Cinema and theatre cannot do without his unique and extraordinary personality. Nobody can erase the indelible imprint of his work on our times."
"Gerard Depardieu is probably the greatest of all actors," the letter added. "Depriving ourselves of this immense actor would be a drama, a defeat. The death of the art. Our art."
Also among the signatories were French Bond girl Carole Bouquet, who was in a relationship with Depardieu for almost a decade starting in 1996, actors Pierre Richard, Victoria Abril and Nathalie Baye, as well as directors Bertrand Blier and Francis Veber.
The letter arrived after French President Emmanuel Macron came under fire for saying Depardieu had become the target of a "manhunt." He said last week that the "Cyrano de Bergerac" actor "makes France proud."
Naturally, the wave of support for Depardieu has received a pushback from rights activists, who condemned Macros's comments as an "insult" to all women who have suffered sexual violence. Sandrine Rousseau, a French lawmaker and feminist, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Is rape part of the 'work' when it's produced by an artist?"
Paris lawmaker and feminist Raphaelle Remy-Leleu said the signatories are experiencing a "denial of reality." She told broadcaster France-Info, "They are refusing to see what this man did ... because he is an artist."
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.
Depardieu's celebrated acting career is filled with scandals. He has made headlines for brawling, drunk driving and urinating in the aisle of a plane. In April, 13 women accused the actor of sexual assault and sexual harassment pertaining to incidents that occurred between 2004 and 2022.
In October, he penned an open letter addressing the claims, in which he insisted he had "never, ever abused a woman" and that "hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach." The "Life of Pi" actor also addressed allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior on set and insisted he was simply "behaving like a child who wanted to have fun."
