Renowned French actor says Depardieu's sex assault case underlines a need for change

PARIS -- Renowned French character Anouk Grinberg says nan intersexual battle proceedings against chap character Gérard Depardieu reflects nan slow way toward consciousness of activity maltreatment successful France, particularly successful nan movie industry, aft years of silence.

Grinberg, 61, who has appeared successful astir 30 films, said Monday astatine what was expected to beryllium nan commencement of Depardieu's proceedings but which was postponed until March because of concerns complete nan 75-year-old actor's health.

She has known Depardieu for complete 3 decades, appearing pinch him successful a 1991 movie and successful nan movie “The Green Shutters." The proceedings centers astir nan alleged intersexual battle of 2 women, a accumulation designer and a director’s assistant, connected nan group of nan second movie successful 2021.

Depardieu has denied immoderate wrongdoing.

In caller months, Grinberg has decided to speak retired connected nan request for change, joining different French actors who decided to shine a ray connected nan repulsive underside of nan country’s industry.

“For respective years, I witnessed this ... without immoderate reaction, for illustration everyone else," she told The Associated Press. “Because I was overwhelmed by nan unit and besides because astatine nan time, we didn’t deliberation of it arsenic violence.”

Yet pinch nan #MeToo activity and much women speaking out, thing “has changed” successful caller years, she said. “And I’ve taken nan measurement of this violence.”

Grinberg besides said she personally knows character Charlotte Arnould, who accuses Depardieu of 2 rapes allegedly committed successful August 2018 successful a abstracted case. Depardieu was charged successful 2020 pinch rape and intersexual battle successful that case, but a magistrate has yet to determine whether to nonstop it to trial.

“What’s analyzable successful cases of intersexual unit is that astir of nan time, women don’t move, don’t take sides themselves. And it’s not because they consent, it’s because they’re conscionable petrified. Something has died wrong them, paralyzed by terror, by disgust," Grinberg said.

“That’s wherever we person to amended nan nine arsenic good arsenic nan justness system,” she added.

Grinberg described pinch schematic specifications Depardieu's obscene comments she said he kept making connected “The Green Shutters" movie set.

“The nine arsenic a full has really been a awesome accomplice successful these actions, these excesses, these deviances,” Grinberg said. “I’ve been a witness, connected movie sets who were wholly silent aliases sniggering astatine this verbal violence.”

She said galore successful nan cinema world remained silent because they were acrophobic they would not beryllium capable to activity anymore if they said retired against powerful group successful nan industry.

Depardieu’s proceedings shows that times person changed, particularly since nan alleged victims did not person high-profile roles. The “little hands” moving successful nan cinema manufacture “are speaking retired and saying capable is enough. Enough is really enough,” Grinberg said.

Earlier this year, French character Judith Godrèche called connected France’s movie manufacture to “face nan truth” connected intersexual unit and beingness maltreatment during nan Cesar Awards ceremony, France’s type of nan Oscars. “We tin determine that men accused of rape nary longer norm nan (French) cinema,” Godrèche said.

Last year, 1 of France’s apical actors, Adèle Haenel, announced she was quitting French movie industry that she denounced for “complacency toward intersexual aggressors.”

Haenel, prima of nan 2019 Cannes introduction “Portrait of a Lady connected Fire,” published an unfastened missive successful nan Telerama mag successful which she said Cannes and different pillars of nan French movie manufacture are “ready to do thing to take sides their rapist chiefs.”