Gérard Depardieu has admitted in courtroom to grabbing by the hips a lady who accuses him of sexual assault, however denied this was assault and stated any crude feedback he might have made had been due to his dangerous temper.
A towering determine of French cinema, Depardieu, 76, has confronted a rising variety of sexual assault allegations in recent times. The actor has constantly denied any wrongdoing and that is the primary case for which he’s standing trial.
“I grabbed her hips,” Depardieu stated on Tuesday, admitting to bodily contact with Amelie Ok, a set decorator, for the primary time and saying he had not talked about it when interrogated by police.
However he added: “I grabbed her hip in order to not slip as a result of I used to be so upset by her, by the warmth, it was a Friday in the direction of the top of capturing, I used to be very drained.”
Sounding at instances confused and sometimes wandering off matter, Depardieu, sitting on a chair as he spoke in courtroom, stated he had been upset at Amelie Ok over her work. He stated she was doing badly and accused her of getting been shocked by that.
“I don’t see why I’d grope a lady,” he instructed the courtroom, including that he was so chubby on the time that a few of what he’s accused of – reminiscent of trapping Amelie Ok between his legs – would have been unimaginable.
Crude feedback he made on the time weren’t directed at her personally, he stated, however associated to her work.
If discovered responsible, Depardieu may resist 5 years in jail and a €75,000 (£63,000) effective.
The trial, which began on Monday, was initially scheduled for October however was postponed resulting from Depardieu’s in poor health well being.
Prosecutors allege the assaults in opposition to Amelie Ok and one other girl – their full identities haven’t been revealed – occurred in the course of the filming in 2021 of Les Volets verts (The Inexperienced Shutters).
Depardieu is accused of groping Amelie Ok on the movie set, pulling her in the direction of him and trapping her along with his legs earlier than touching her waist, hips, breasts and genitals, whereas saying obscene phrases. Three folks witnessed the scene, prosecutors say.
They are saying the second girl was groped by Depardieu on set and on the street. The trial is the highest-profile #MeToo case within the media trade to come back earlier than the courts in France.
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