“Gérard is not a sexual predator”: Karine Silla, ex-partner of Depardieu, defends himself

She is one of the rare personalities who still show their support for Gérard Depardieu. While several actors said they regretted having signed the platform in support of the actor, Karine Silla, his ex-partner, spoke in Paris Match about the scandals surrounding him. She defends a man who “does not have the will or the fantasy to dominate women”, who counts in his entourage “free women, those who are not under the influence of a man, of a patriarchy or of a political party, who dare to speak and act against the grain", and a man who "defends the widow and the orphan".

At the antipodes of the portrait of a “scoundrel”, of a “monster” with “big hands” described in particular by Anouk Grinberg, Karine Silla evokes a “delicate man in romantic intimacy with a woman. Intimacy inspires respect and a certain shyness in him; he prefers to talk about poetry.” To those who might object that the actor, accused by around ten women of rape or sexual assault, the actress and director retorts: “The complainants of his inappropriate behavior almost all say the same thing: it happened in front of the team and the people said nothing, except: “It’s Gérard.”

“Those who cheered him on, laughing out loud. He put on a show to entertain the gallery, turning his head from left to right to see if anyone was laughing, and the others laughed and applauded,” says Karine Silla, meaning that the context counted for a lot. “He’s not a perverted man,” she continues. His saucy and crude humor is put forward as proof of his deviances. But since when are words synonymous with actions?

As for the images broadcast by Complément d'investigation in December, where we see Gérard Depardieu sexualizing a 10-year-old child, she considers that it is a “staged” made by an “accusatory show” . “With children, he is always respectful,” she explains. He stays at a distance when he speaks to them so as not to invade them. (...) He hates adults who attack children.”

Karine Silla recalls that justice must do its job and that “in a court, the words of the defense are heard. Nothing like this with this new justice rendered on social networks and in the media. The presumption of innocence is a term that has become unbearable for some to hear.”

To the question “Do you believe Gérard Depardieu capable of what he is accused of”, his ex-partner responds: “What I can testify to is that all the women who shared his romantic intimacy agree to say one essential thing: Gérard is not a sexual predator.”