A lady accusing Gérard Depardieu of sexual assault has advised a landmark trial in Paris that the actor groped her buttocks and her breasts a number of occasions in three separate incidents on a movie set.
Depardieu, 76, is accused of groping a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant throughout filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts (The Inexperienced Shutters). He denies any sexual assault.
The third day of the Paris trial centered on the testimony of the youthful plaintiff, who mentioned Depardieu had first groped her backside when she was alone with him for a quick second between the backstage space and the movie set.
“Out of the blue, he put his hand on my butt,” she advised the court docket on Wednesday, including she was in shock, “petrified” and mentioned nothing.
In a second incident, she alleged, Depardieu had instantly put each his palms on her breasts. “I mentioned no; I used to be scared,” she mentioned. She additionally mentioned she had advised Depardieu “no” throughout a 3rd comparable incident.
The plaintiff mentioned she reported the difficulty to her direct supervisor, who then alerted others in command of the movie manufacturing, prompting anger from the actor.
Depardieu repeatedly denied the allegations on Wednesday in court docket, saying: “I’m not like that.”
“I feel that perhaps, I don’t know, she was cautious due to my status of being vulgar, crude, impolite,” Depardieu mentioned. “However I’m not solely that. I nonetheless respect individuals.”
The actor additionally advised the court docket he was nearly at all times accompanied by aides on the movie set, together with his bodyguard, and steered that he would not often discover himself alone with a movie employee.
On Tuesday, Depardieu acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualised language with the set dresser who has accused him of sexual assault. He mentioned he grabbed her hips throughout an argument, however denied that his behaviour was sexual and that he solely did so to cease himself slipping.
The four-day trial is to proceed on Thursday, with the decision anticipated at a later date.
The actor faces as much as 5 years in jail and a effective of €75,000 (£63,000) if convicted.
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