{"id":36682,"date":"2023-12-17T21:22:05","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T21:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/depardieu-family-denounces-conspiracy-against-french-film-icon\/"},"modified":"2023-12-17T21:22:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-17T21:22:05","slug":"depardieu-family-denounces-conspiracy-against-french-film-icon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/depardieu-family-denounces-conspiracy-against-french-film-icon\/","title":{"rendered":"Depardieu family denounces ‘conspiracy’ against French film icon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The family of Gerard Depardieu denounced Sunday an \u201cunprecedented conspiracy\u201d against the French film star, who was charged with rape in 2020 and is facing new scrutiny over sexist comments.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mounting accusations of sexual harassment, as well as newly released footage of Depardieu making obscene comments, are forcing a fresh debate about sexism and sexual violence in French cinema.<\/p>\n

Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak said this week that the 74-year-old actor\u2019s behaviour shames France, noting that he might be stripped of the Legion of Honour, the country\u2019s top award, he received from president Jacques Chirac in 1996.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, we are often shocked by Gerard\u2019s comments, but our father\/grandfather\/uncle is being the target of an unprecedented conspiracy,\u201d several members of his family, including his daughter, actress Julie Depardieu, said in a letter published in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.<\/p>\n

Deploring \u201cthis terrifying collective insanity\u201d, they said that \u201cin private, with his children, he is an extremely modest, delicate and even prudish person!\u201d<\/p>\n

Depardieu was charged with rape in 2020 and has also faced 13 accusations of sexual harassment or assault.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the culture minister said that the Grand Chancery of the Legion of Honour would initiate a \u201cdisciplinary procedure\u201d to decide whether to strip Depardieu of the award.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, broadcaster France 2 showed the actor on a 2018 trip to North Korea repeatedly making explicit sexual comments in the presence of a female interpreter and sexualising a small girl riding a horse.<\/p>\n

Depardieu \u2014 who has more than 200 roles to his name, including in the 1990 comedy \u201cGreen Card\u201d and the Netflix series \u201cMarseille\u201d \u2014 has denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever ever have I abused a woman,\u201d he wrote in Le Figaro newspaper in October.<\/p>\n

His family denounced France 2\u2019s investigation as a \u201cmonstrous manipulation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2013 \u2018Plays all roles\u2019 \u2013 <\/strong><\/h4>\n

They said Depardieu often liked to provoke but added that it was an act.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe plays all the roles, even if it means shocking sensitive souls. Including us, of course,\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe plays all the time,\u201d the family said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this documentary has chosen to reduce him to the mere role of \u2018total arsehole\u2019, the one we like least.\u201d<\/p>\n

His family also said that some people were now taking offence at the actor\u2019s \u201cexcesses when only a short time ago that was part of the reason we loved him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s being criticised today for doing what he was encouraged to do yesterday, which made a lot of people laugh on film sets, to loosen up the atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter said it was necessary to stop \u201cconfusing words with deeds\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsing Gerard\u2019s verbal provocations to back up other (as yet unsubstantiated) accusations is extremely dishonest,\u201d the family said.<\/p>\n

Depardieu might be coarse or \u201cGallic\u201d but \u201cnot violent\u201d, the family said. \u201cWe, who lived with him and saw him live, can testify to this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor him and all his family, the damage is indescribable.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the film star\u2019s lawyers told AFP that he was putting his Legion of Honour award at the disposal of the minister.<\/p>\n

The lawyers, Beatrice Geissmann Achille and Christian Saint-Palais, questioned whether it was part of Abdul Malak\u2019s role to participate \u201cso actively in the manhunt\u201d and \u201cmedia lynching\u201d to which they believed their client was being subjected.<\/p>\n

The culture minister has said French people will not stop watching films featuring Depardieu.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, a Belgian municipality stripped Depardieu of the title of honorary citizen, and earlier this week the Canadian province of Quebec revoked its top honour over his \u201cscandalous\u201d comments against women.<\/p>\n

In 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron withdrew the Legion of Honour from Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein after a series of accusations of sexual harassment and rape.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n