Gérard Depardieu Breaks Silence on Rape and Sexual Assault Allegations: ‘I Finally Want to Tell You My Truth’

Gérard Depardieu, who was accused of sexual assault and harassment in 2018 and again in April 2023, is addressing the allegations against him. The French actor penned an open letter in Le Figaro and denied the claims.

"I finally want to tell you my truth," Depardieu wrote in French and translated roughly here. "I have never, ever abused a woman. Hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach."

In 2018, the BBC reported that a 22-year old French actress said she was raped by Depardieu at one of his Paris residences. At the time, the actor's lawyers denied the claims.

Earlier this year in April, a French investigative news outlet called Mediapart reported on a dozen women who accused him of sexual assault, like unwanted touching, and inappropriate behavior on and off the set. According to Politico, the actor's lawyer said Depardieu "formally denies all accusations susceptible of coming under criminal law."

He added that he can "no longer sing 'Barbara' because a woman who wanted to sing 'Barbara' with me accused me of rape."

In September, he unloaded some of his possessions in a two-day auction in Paris. The auction, which included more than 203 items including art, garnered about $4.2 million.

Some of the sale’s most in-demand items were Odilon Redon’s flower vase oil painting and three sculptures by Rodin. The painting sold for about $52,000, while the sculptures went for between $15,000 and $68,000, per the New York Times.

In a bit of a twist, an enlarged 4.5-foot “Walking Man” bronze sculpture, originally crafted in 1945 by Germaine Richier, received a bid for more than $535,000, but on Wednesday the auction house announced in a statement that Depardieu had a change of heart and decided to hold onto the piece that was once showcased in his living room, the Times reported.