Renowned French actor Gérard Depardieu is facing allegations of sexual misconduct from 13 women, as revealed in an investigative report by French news website Médiapart.
The accusations are linked to eleven films and series spanning from 2004 to 2022, including the comedy Big House, the biopic Dumas, and the Netflix crime series Marseille.
In response to the report, Depardieu's attorneys at Paris-based law firm Cabinet Temime stated that some of the claims seemed to be founded on "very subjective assessments and/or moral judgments." The cabinet issued a statement on Depardieu's behalf to Médiapart, saying, "He formally denies all the charges likely to fall under criminal law."
Deadline has also reached out to Cabinet Temime for additional comment.
Several directors and producers associated with the productions mentioned in the report have released statements denying any awareness of Depardieu's alleged misconduct.
Médiapart's findings are the result of a months-long investigation, sparked by persistent rumors and social media posts about Depardieu's treatment of women.
These 13 accusers are in addition to French actress Charlotte Arnould, who filed rape charges against Depardieu in 2018.
Arnould, the daughter of a longtime friend of the actor, accused Depardieu of raping and sexually assaulting her twice at his Paris mansion in the summer of 2018 after she sought his advice on acting. The case is currently progressing through the French courts after an attempt to have the charges dismissed was denied.
The Médiapart report stated, "Besides the complaint from Charlotte Arnould, we have gathered 13 accounts from women who say they were subjected to sexually inappropriate jests or proposals by the famous actor, of differing levels of gravity."
The report, which includes detailed accounts from some anonymous accusers, also criticized the film and TV industry for ignoring Depardieu's actions.
The report described a recurring pattern: "They are actresses, make-up artists, and crew members. They attest to have been subjected to a hand on their buttock, between the legs, or on their thighs or stomach; as well as obscene sexual propositions, and sometimes insistent groaning."
These incidents were often dismissed on set with laughter and the phrase, "Oh ok, it's just Gérard!" Many of the accusers did not come forward at the time, fearing backlash and potential loss of work.
The Médiapart report highlighted the power imbalance between "often young, precarious women, starting their career" and "a world-famous actor, whose mere presence sometimes makes it possible to finance the film."
The allegations against Depardieu emerged just days after Médiapart's Editor-in-Chief Ewdy Plenel filed a violence complaint against director-actress Maïwenn Le Besco, whose Johnny Depp-starring costume romance Jeanne du Barry is premiering at Cannes this year.
French media reported that Plenel claimed he had been violently grabbed by the hair and spat on by a woman in a restaurant, whom staff later identified as Maïwenn. Plenel stated he had never interacted with Maïwenn personally.
Médiapart has previously published in-depth reports on sexual assault allegations against Luc Besson, Maïwenn's former husband and father of her eldest child. Besson vehemently denied the allegations at the time.