Some sixty French artists denounced in a statement published in the press a “lynching” against the actor Gerard Depardieuaccused since 2020 of several cases of sexual abuse and at the center of a political-media scandal after the recent broadcast of a television documentary.
Among the signatories of the statement, published on Monday in the newspaper Le Figaro, are the director Bertrand Blierthe actresses Nathalie Baye, Carole Bouquet and Charlotte Ramplingactors Jacques Weber, Pierre Richard and Gérard Darmonbut also singers like Roberto Alagna, Carla Bruni, Arielle Dombasle and Jacques Dutronc.
What the statement says in favor of Gérard Depardieu
“Gérard Depardieu is probably the greatest of all actors. The last sacred pillar of cinema. We cannot remain silent in the face of the lynching he suffers, in the face of the torrent of hatred that is poured out on his person (…) leaving aside the presumption of innocence that he would have enjoyed, like anyone else, if he were not the giant of cinema that he is,” they write.
“When Depardieu is attacked like this, art is attacked. Because of his genius as an actor, Gérard participates in the artistic projection of our country”says the tribune.
“No matter what happens, no one will ever be able to erase the indelible mark of his work, from which our era was forever marked. The rest concerns justice. Exclusively justice,” the authors add.
Macron’s defense of Depardieu
French President Emmanuel Macron and members of the actor’s family, including his daughter Julie, had already spoken publicly to defend Gerard Depardieuaccused after one of the two complaints against him in France and which he refutes.
The recent broadcast of a report about the actor, in the program “Research Complement” on the France 2 network, caused a shock wave with international repercussions.
In these images, Depardieu multiplies misogynistic and insulting statements by addressing women and a girl with words of a sexual nature.
The France Télévisions group, to which the channel belongs, assured on Friday that the scene before the girl had been “authenticated” by a bailiff.
This reaction came after statements by the head of state that suggested that the sequence had been modified during editing, as previously stated by the actor’s family.
Since the scandal, Gérard Depardieu was expelled from the National Order of Quebec and his title of honorary citizen of the commune of Estaimpuis in Belgium. The wax statue of him was also removed from the famous Grévin museum in Paris.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
