Gerard Depardieu faces new allegations of sexual harassment by 13 women

Veteran French actor Gerard Depardieu Photo: Ettore Ferrari/ANSA

Thirteen women reported being sexually harassed by Gerard Depardieu, a French veteran actor.

The group alleges that Depardieu, who is already under investigation for rape, shoved his hands into their underwear and made obscene remarks.

The alleged incidents took place on films and television for over the past two decades, according to an investigation by news site Mediapart.

Sarah Brooks, an American actress who appeared alongside a 74-year-old man on the Netflix series Marseille at the age of 20 in 2015, told Mediapart that he stuck his hand under her shorts, «making a weird loud moan.» /p>

She said: «He said:» Ha, I thought you wanted to succeed in the movies. Everyone laughed and he continued. I felt terrible, it was so humiliating.»

The actor «does not intend to respond» to new claims. far away.

One said he had a «wandering hand» that moved to «grab my waist» and «finally put her hand on my ass insistently.»

< p>“Adults let the actor caress my breasts. in front of everyone,” another actress, who was 17 years old at the time, told Mediapart.

This behavior was allegedly often tolerated by other members of the crew, who sometimes noted: “Oh, it’s okay, it’s Gerard ”, according to the complainants.

Depardieu, arguably France’s most famous and notorious living film star, has denied the allegations.

In 2018, actress Charlotte Arnoux filed rape charges against Depardieu, claiming that he raped her twice. The case is still pending in French courts despite Depardieu's attempt to refute the allegations. He denies the accusations.

Despite the controversy surrounding him, Depardieu has starred in five films over the past year, including a new version of the detective series Maigret.

He «does not intends to consider «new claims» «which appear to mix very different topics, including some very subjective assessments and/or moral judgments,» his lawyers said.