PARIS (AP) 鈥 French actor G茅rard Depardieu faces another complaint of sexual assault, this time from a movie decorator who alleges he groped her during filming in 2021.
In the complaint to the Paris prosecutor鈥檚 office, the 53-year-old decorator alleges that Depardieu grabbed her and kneaded her waist, stomach and breasts during filming for 鈥淟es Volets verts,鈥 or 鈥淭he Green Shutters,鈥 lawyer Carine Durrieu Diebolt said Monday. Other people intervened to stop him, the lawyer added.
Two lawyers for the 75-year-old Depardieu did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment, and their offices said they weren't available to talk by phone.
The latest accusations came after French actor Judith Godr猫che called on France鈥檚 film industry to on sexual violence and physical abuse during a live broadcast Friday of the Cesar Awards ceremony, France鈥檚 version of the Oscars.
Godr猫che, who recently accused two film directors of rape and sexual abuse when she was a teenager, condemned French cinema for its silence over abuses in the industry.
鈥淲e can decide that men accused of rape no longer rule the (French) cinema,鈥 Godr猫che said to a hushed audience. 鈥淟et's not embody heroines on screen only to find ourselves hiding in the woods in real life.鈥
Depardieu has also been accused by more than a dozen other women of harassing, groping or sexually assaulting them. He was handed preliminary in 2020 following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould.
Depardieu denies wrongdoing. In an open letter in October, he said: "I have never, ever abused a woman.鈥
Durrieu Diebolt said that the statement was traumatic for her client and led her to file suit against him.
Depardieu was long seen as a national icon in France. He has been a global ambassador for French film and enjoyed international fame with several roles in Hollywood.
Despite the allegations against him, his fame has won Depardieu words of praise from the highest echelons of the French government.
鈥淗e makes France proud,鈥 President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with TV channel France 5 that was broadcast Dec. 20, days after a documentary aired on French television in which of harassing, groping or sexually assaulting them.
In January, Macron tried to walk back his remarks in Depardieu鈥檚 defense, saying that he should have mentioned his unequivocal support for victims of abuse.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 said enough how important it is for women who are victims of abuse to speak out, and how crucial this fight is to me,鈥 Macron said, while standing by his defense of Depardieu's presumed innocence.
French cultural minister Rachida Dati on Friday criticized the country鈥檚 cinema for 鈥渃ollectively turning a blind eye for decades鈥 to sexual violence.
鈥淭his should be the beginning of profound soul-searching for French cinema,鈥 Dati said in an interview with a online magazine, The French Film. 鈥淭here is no impunity in the name of art."
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Surk reported from Nice, France.
