Gerard Depardieu Faces Another Sexual Assault Claim

Daniel Kreps
·2 min read
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"Der Geschmack der kleinen Dinge (Umami)" Premiere In Berlin - Credit: Tristar Media/Getty Images
"Der Geschmack der kleinen Dinge (Umami)" Premiere In Berlin - Credit: Tristar Media/Getty Images

Gerard Depardieu is facing another sexual assault allegation after a French actress filed a new police complaint claiming he groped her in 2007.

The French actor, who was accused of assaulting over a dozen women in an investigative report published in April, was charged with rape in 2021 stemming from an incident involving a then-22-year-old actress at his home in Paris in August 2018.

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The new complaint, filed by actress Hélène Darras, alleges that Depardieu sexually assaulted her when they were working on the 2007 film Disco. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed to Variety that it received the new sexual assault complaint and was investigating the allegations.

“We’re in the process of analyzing the complaint to see if it should be handled separately or as part of the ongoing case [stemming from the 2018 rape charges],” a spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

Darras was among the 13 women who came forward with accusations against the actor in the Mediapart investigative report and subsequently in the documentary Gerard Depardieu: La chute de l’ogre, which aired this week in France. In that program, Darras accused Depardieu of having a “wandering hand,” allegedly grabbing and groping her despite her rejecting his advances.

Following the investigative report, Depardieu denied all claims against him, including the 2018 rape accusation that resulted in criminal charges.

Depardieu is one of France’s most famous and acclaimed actors, having been nominated for 17 César Awards and winning two: His first in 1981 for La Dernier Metro and his second in 1991 for Cyrano de Bergerac. Depardieu also managed to make the leap into Hollywood, earning an Oscar nomination for Cyrano de Bergerac and appearing in films like 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Green Card, The Man in the Iron Mask, and Life of Pi. But Depardieu has also been dogged by controversy: In 2011, he infamously urinated in a bottle while on a flight, and the following year, he was accused of punching a motorist in a road rage incident as well as drunk driving.

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