Actress Vahina Giocante accuses Gérard Depardieu of having sexually assaulted an extra

Vahina Giocante, known for her roles in Le Libertin, Lila dit ça or Mata Hari, accuses Gérard Depardieu of having put “his hand in the panties of an extra during a take”. The actress published a long text on her Facebook account on December 28 in which she denounced “certain behaviors are no longer acceptable, if indeed they ever were.” “It is painful for me to see that many people in the cinema are “above ground”, disconnected from this new world that is emerging,” she writes about the platform of cultural personalities in support of Gérard Depardieu. The 75-year-old actor, who fell from his pedestal after the broadcast of images in which he multiplies misogynistic and sexual remarks, including towards a little girl, is the target of three complaints for sexual assault or rape which he refutes.

“What reassures me a little is seeing the average age of the signatories. Young people are not fooled, they know that what they call “rudeness” or “wandering hands” are nothing other than abuses of power which have no place in a workplace or elsewhere if they are not consented to. A woman's body belongs to her and NO ONE, not even the greatest actor, can allow herself to touch it without clear agreement. It’s quite a simple and clear rule,” she says. About Gérard Depardieu, the actress, who made three films with him, denounces a “monster” whom she saw in “his best light”.

“I saw him at his best with Claude Chabrol. He respected him and kept himself as best he could!!! But I also saw him being like a wild animal, without pity for those who tremble before him. I observed him, like so many others, abusing the weakest, making young women and those not so young cry. Like a child stronger than the others in the playground who seeks limits by harassing the most fragile. Vahina Giocante says she escaped this mistreatment. “I am lucky to have been spared by the beast because my ex-father-in-law, to whom he was very close, called him before we filmed together and told him “don’t touch my little stepdaughter ” . I was lucky to know the paternalistic Gérard.

“But I can no longer keep silent about having witnessed this same man like Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde with his hand in the panties of an extra during a take, to see the face of this woman red with shame trying to tighten her legs to prevent Gérard's big fingers from fiddling with her private parts, not being able to defend herself so as not to “spoil” the shot, she says, without specifying the date of filming or the name of the film. The only thing I could do was go see the first assistant so that he could move this poor prey as far as possible from its predator. I didn't do more! Like the majority of technicians or “superior people” it was better to keep quiet!”

“Friends, colleagues, let’s return to reason and compassion. Let's stop this terribly embarrassing hypocrisy. We are talking about broken lives here, and I am not talking about that of Gérard who took full advantage of it for far too long. I'm talking about these women in the shadows who, in addition to having been defiled, find no grace in your eyes! The baking right and the party are over! Make way for justice and fairness,” she concluded.