French celebrities distance themselves from Depardieu, accused of rape

Several of the 60 personalities who signed a petition in support of French actor Gerard Depardieu, accused of rape and sexual harassment, have now distanced themselves from the move. Since then, three anti-Depardieu petitions signed by thousands of artists and celebrities have emerged.

Gerard Depardieu at the 74th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo

On Monday, actor and director Jacques Weber became the latest French celebrity to distance himself from an open letter entitled "Don't erase Gerard Depardieu," published on Christmas Day in daily newspaper Le Figaro.

Weber said he regretted his "blindness", after having signed the petition in support of the disgraced film legend, who is charged with rape and is facing a litany of other sexual assault claims.

"As a reflex of friendship, I signed in haste, without inquiring ... Yes I signed, forgetting the victims and the fate of thousands of women in the world who suffer from a state of affairs that has been accepted for too long," Weber wrote in a fresh opinion piece, published by the investigative website Mediapart on New Year's Day.

"Despite the love or admiration that his friends, his family and the cinema family have for [Depardieu], we must not prevent the truth from emerging."

"If we were guilty of accepting behaviour that is now unacceptable on film and theatre sets, then yes I was guilty," Weber admitted.

Other personalities have since distanced themselves, including Depardieu's former partner Carole Bouquet, Nadine Trintignant and Gérard Darmon.

Jacques Weber pictured on 15 December 2020 at the Théatre de l'Atelier where he was supposed to perform, before the government cancelled the reopening of theatres due to the Covid-19 pandemic. © RFI/Hird

Right-wing connections

The unease stems, in part, from the revelation that the author of the petition, Yannis Ezziadi – who is reputedly close to Julie Depardieu, Gerard's daughter –  writes for the ultraconservative magazine Causeur, known for its links to far right-wing circles.

Meanwhile Trintignant, whose daughter Marie was killed by singer Bertrand Cantat in 2003, told Le Point that she did not know who had written the column and admitted she'd signed it because she did not agree with the media's poor treatment of Depardieu – something she had suffered from herself.

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"I ask the people I shocked not to blame me for my grave error. I am against the media lynching – that I experienced with violence in the press – which spoke of a crime of passion regarding my daughter. Today, we talk about it like a murder and that’s good," the actress and director insisted.

On Sunday, actor Pierre Richard also dissociated himself from the letter. "I signed without knowing the ideological movement to which the author of the petition belongs," he said.

Also on Sunday, actor Charles Berling also posted a message with an apology to victims.

"My position has obviously hurt many people. I am deeply saddened and I apologise. My commitment against violence against women is unwavering and will always remain so."

8000 artistes ont donc signé notre tribune collective en 48H. Un mouvement de solidarité et d'adelphité qui réchauffe nos cœurs et nous rassure, quelque peu, sur le champ des possibles de notre futur commun.
1/4 pic.twitter.com/7wlThzYkhC

— Cerveaux non disponibles (@CerveauxNon) December 31, 2023

'Spitting in the face' of victims

Meanwhile, since 29 December, over 8,000 artists have signed a counter-petition, including singers Angèle, Louane and rapper Médine.

Organised by the collective "Cerveaux non disponible" (Brains not available), the petition is particularly critical of President Emmanuel Macron's response to the scandal.

Macron came to Depardieu's defence on 20 December, claiming the "immense" actor was the target of "a manhunt".

However, the collective said an artist, no matter how good their talent, should not benefit from special treatment.

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"This forum and the defence of Macron are spitting in the face of the victims of Gérard Depardieu but also of all the victims of sexist and sexual violence," the signatories wrote.

Another petition, entitled "Address to the old world", was published on Sunday on the Mediapart website with some 70 signatures from cinema personalities including Laure Calamy and Anouk Grinberg.

The latest petition was published Monday by French left-wing daily Libération, proclaiming that "art is not a totem of impunity."

"Sacred monsters do not exist. There are only ordinary men to whom we have given all the rights," the text reads.

The column was signed by 150 personalities from the world of culture, including actresses Muriel Robin, Alexandra Lamy and director Thomas Jolly.