French actor Gerard Depardieu speaks in a discussion after the screening of 'The End', in the cinema Delphi Filmpalast during the 66th annual Berlin International Film Festival, in Berlin, Germany, 14 February 2016. The film is at the Berlinale in the Forum section. The 'Berlinale' runs from 11 to 21 February. EPA/JENS KALAENE
PARIS, France - French actor Gerard Depardieu broke his silence on allegations of rape and sexual assault against him, denouncing a lynching orchestrated by a "media court".
In an open letter published in the opinion pages of Le Figaro, one of France's leading daily newspapers, he wrote: "Never, ever have I abused a woman."
In a lengthy text written in a literary style, the 74-year-old actor concluded: "To the media court, to the lynching that has been reserved for me, I have only my word to defend myself."
It was the first time that Depardieu had responded to allegations published in April by the investigative website Mediapart.
In this file photo taken on February 19, 2016, French actor Gerard Depardieu arrives for a photocall of the film "Saint Amour" in competition of the 66th Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin. French actor Gerard Depardieu has been charged with rape and sexual assault allegedly committed in 2018 against an actress in her 20s, a judicial source told AFP on February 23, 2021. A first probe of the rape accusations against Depardieu, 72, was dropped for lack of evidence but later reopened, leading to criminal charges filed in December, the source said. Agence France-Presse
They revealed fresh accusations of sexual violence against him from more than a dozen women, with some of the allegations going back to the early 2000s.
In December 2020, he was placed under formal investigation for rape and sexual assault after an actress accused him of having raped her on two occasions in his apartment in 2018, when she was 22.
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© Agence France-Presse