More women accuse Depardieu of abuse

PARIS

More than a dozen women have accused veteran French actor Gerard Depardieu of sexual violence, with some allegations going back decades, according to a report from French investigative news website Mediapart.

The 74-year-old actor was already facing a charge of raping a French actress. Depardieu has, through his lawyers, categorically denied any wrongdoing.

The Mediapart investigative website reported on April 11 that 13 other women had come forward to accuse Depardieu of molesting them on the set of 11 films or series that came out between 2004 and 2022, or in locations off set.

The prosecutor's office on April 12 said it had not received any new complaints but that their investigation was ongoing into accusations he had raped French actress Charlotte Arnould in 2018.

The new accusations range from "a hand in underwear, on the crotch, on the buttocks or on the breasts" to "obscene sexual remarks" and "insistent grunts," Mediapart reported.

Even when the alleged abuse happened on set in front of witnesses, when women complained, crews often laughed it off, saying it was just the actor's way, the investigative website reported.