French Prosecutors Dismiss Gerard Depardieu Sexual Assault Complaint
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A complaint alleging that French actor Gerard Depardieu sexually assaulted actress Hélène Darras during the 2007 filming of Disco has been dismissed by French prosecutors. The prosecutor’s office deemed that a complaint falls outside the statute of limitations, according to Variety.
Darras filed the initial complaint in September 2023, having decided to submit her own after being asked to serve as a witness during an ongoing investigation connected to a lawsuit by Charlotte Arnould.
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Depardieu, who was accused of assaulting over a dozen women in an investigative report published in April, was charged with rape in 2021. The charges stemmed from an incident involving Arnould, who was 22 years old at the time, at his home in Paris in August 2018.
The investigative report named 13 women in total, all accusing Depardieu of sexual misconduct. “There are no other women, to this day, whose testimonies as part of this investigation has given new elements to the judge,” the prosecutors’ office declared.
The actor has not been convicted on any charges. Last year, nearly 60 actors and public figures signed an open letter claiming that Depardieu is the victim of a “torrent of hatred.” The letter, which was signed by British actress Charlotte Rampling and former French first lady Carla Bruni, among others, stated that “when Gérard Depardieu is attacked in this way, it is art that is being attacked.”
Depardieu has faced numerous allegations of sexual assault in the past and has denied those claims. But the new documentary Gerard Depardieu: La chute de l’ogre — which aired in December and also features footage of Depardieu making sexist remarks during a trip to North Korea in 2018 — led to new waves of scrutiny and backlash. Depardieu’s likeness was removed from a Paris wax museum, in addition to France’s culture minister saying there would be disciplinary proceedings to potentially strip Depardieu of his Legion of Honor.
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