French actor Gérard Depardieu acknowledged Tuesday that he used crude language around a woman who accuses him of sexual assault and grabbed her hips but denied assaulting her, as he testified for the first time at his landmark trial in Paris. "I am a disgusting slob," said Depardieu. But he said he "never, ever" would have pincered a woman between his legs against her will. The woman told the court he'd behaved "like a madman" who took "pleasure in frightening me," per the AP. Day 2 of the Paris trial centered on the Oscar-nominated actor's behavior during the filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts, where two co-workers allege that he groped them on the set. The 76-year-old has denied assaulting the women.
But during more than an hour of testimony Tuesday, Depardieu acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualized language with one of the plaintiffs, a 54-year-old set dresser, and grabbed her hips during an on-set argument about the artistic merits of a painting. Depardieu said he'd been in a "bad mood" because the set was hot, which was hard for him because he is overweight. "I understand perfectly if she's a bit upset," he said in his gruff, deep voice so familiar to cinemagoers. "I don't have to talk like that, get angry like that." But he insisted that he isn't a sexual predator. "I'm not touching the butts of women," Depardieu said. The actor faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $81,000 if convicted. The verdict isn't expected immediately after the trial.
The set dresser testified after Depardieu. She said the actor pincered her between his legs as she squeezed past him in a narrow corridor, grabbed her hips, then started "palpating" her behind and "in front, around." She ran her hands near her buttocks, hips, and pubic area to show what she allegedly experienced. She said he then reached for and grabbed her chest. "I tried to free myself, I tried to take his hands away, I couldn't do it," she testified. She said someone came and removed Depardieu's hands from her. "I saw in his eyes a pleasure in frightening me," she said. She said Depardieu had also made sexual comments on the film set. The second plaintiff, a 34-year-old who worked as an assistant on the film, is yet to testify. (More Gerard Depardieu stories.)
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