After the scandal caused by the broadcast of Complément d’investigation around Gérard Depardieu, the artist’s family stepped up to defend him.
Actor Gérard Depardieu is currently in legal turmoil, targeted by two complaints for rape and sexual assault. It also sparked heated controversy after the broadcast on France 2 of Complément d’investigation on December 7.
In a column published in Sunday Newspaperthe family of the 74-year-old actor reacted to the content of this show, defending the actor.
“Of course, we are often shocked by Gérard’s comments, but our father/grandfather/uncle is being subjected to an unprecedented cabal, after the monstrous manipulation practiced by a journalist who did not hesitate to rummage through trash to fish out the images of the outtakes from the film Yann Moix filmed in North Korea”declared three of his children, Julie, Roxane and Jean Depardieu, as well as his niece Delphine and his granddaughter Élisabeth.
Gérard Depardieu’s family denounces a “collective rage” against the actor. “In private, with his children, he is someone extremely modest, delicate and even prudish!”they argue.
For those around him, the images filmed in 2018 in North Korea were taken out of context: “This journalist creates a real staging, proceeding with cutaways which we know are necessarily suspect since we can edit them as we want”they estimate.
“We are frightened to witness this terrifying collective madness, this total confusion which goes beyond Gérard’s person. We just call for reason and to let justice work”concluded the actor’s family.
Furthermore, the latter announced that he was placing his Legion of Honor “at the disposal” of the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul-Malak. This distinction was awarded to him by President Jacques Chirac in 1996.
“A council of the order will meet and will initiate a disciplinary procedure to decide whether this Legion of Honor should be suspended or not, withdrawn or not. I understand that it could be done”, confided the Minister of Culture in the show C à vous. Gérard Depardieu “puts France to shame”, she added.
However, according to the JDD, this decision was taken without consulting President Emmanuel Macron. According to the newspaper, the latter would have been “furious” of the initiative of Rima Abdul-Malak.
“The announcement was made without first informing the President of the Republic. In private, the Head of State nevertheless recalls that he is the Grand Master of the Legion of Honor, and declares himself surprised that the Minister , his former advisor at the Élysée, did not consult him”revealed the JDD.
At a time when a second complaint for sexual assault has just been filed against the actor, the Gérard Depardieu affair is sparking controversy at the highest levels of the State.
As a reminder, the actor has chosen to no longer film while waiting for the court to deliver its verdict. He published an open letter to deny the accusations against him. Furthermore, according to AFP, the wax statue of Gérard Depardieu was removed from the Grévin museum. The decision to withdraw has been made “in the face of negative reactions from visitors as well as on our social networks”specified the management of the establishment.