Charlotte Rampling denounces ‘public lynching’ of Gerard Depardieu despite sex assault claims

Charlotte Rampling has denounced the public “lynching” of disgraced cinema legend Gerard Depardieu in an open letter signed by French stars including Carla Bruni.

The British actress joined more than 60 contemporaries in defending Depardieu in the face of mounting sexual assault accusations, writing that an attack on a “giant” of French cinema was an attack on “art”.

The intervention comes after Emmanuel Macron triggered anger in France for appearing to back Depardieu in a row over trial by media.

Over the last five years, more than a dozen women have come forward accusing the actor of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment. He now also faces similar charges from three separate women in France and Spain but denies the accusations.

But earlier this month, a damning documentary sparked a fresh wave of public anger after he was captured on camera during a 2018 visit to North Korea making a string of lewd and vulgar comments towards his interpreter and making lewd remarks about a 10-year-old girl riding a horse.

The open letter, which on Monday night Depardieu called “beautiful”, urges the public to refrain from passing judgment on Depardieu while the accusations are still under investigation.

Notable among the names was Ms Rampling, 77, who has called France home for the last 50 years and is the recipient of both an Honorary Cesar and the Legion of Honour for her filmography.

“Gerard Depardieu is probably the greatest of all actors,” said the open letter published in French newspaper Le Figaro late Monday, Christmas Day.

“We can no longer remain silent in the face of the lynching that fell upon him, in the face of the torrent of hatred that pours down on his person, without nuance...in defiance of a presumption of innocence of which he would have benefited, like everyone else, if he were not the giant of cinema that he is,” the letter reads.

Ms Bruni, the actress and wife of Nicolas Sarkozy, was among the others alongside Carole Bouquet, 66, who was the face of Chanel’s No. 5 fragrance from 1986 to 1997.

Ms Bouquet, Depardieu’s former companion of 10 years, has accused documentary filmmakers of editing footage of a recent documentary to fraudulently accuse him of inappropriate behaviour.

But a justice commissioner, responsible for authenticating materials, confirmed the sequences had not been tampered.

The footage in question was from a documentary showing Depardieu in North Korea in 2018.

While watching the child trot around an enclosure he says that women get sexual pleasure out of riding horses and calls women “sluts”.

In another scene, he turns to the interpreter after weighing himself and says: “124 kilos, and right now I’m not erect, erect is 126.”

“I’ve got a beam in my pants,” he said.

Despite the accusations and recent footage, signatories of the letter, which include French actors, singers, directors, film critics, playwrights and painters, ask readers not to focus on the charges but to “remember all the good that this man did for us, throughout his life.”

“When we attack Gérard Depardieu in this way, it is art that we attack. Through his genius as an actor, Gérard Depardieu contributes to the artistic influence of our country,” the letter reads.

“He contributes to the history of art in the highest possible way. It is part of this history and continues to enrich it. For this, France owes him so much. Cinema and theatre cannot do without his unique and extraordinary personality. To deprive yourself of this immense actor would be a tragedy, a defeat. The death of art. Ours.”

Macron sparks outrage for public admiration

Mr Macron, the French president, also expressed public admiration for the actor in a TV interview this month and said he refused to take part in a “manhunt” nor strip him of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest order of merit, as some critics have been calling for.

Veronique Ataly, a member of French actors association Actrices et Acteurs de France Associés (AAFA) blamed Mr Macron for encouraging support of Depardieu.

“I was absolutely stunned,” she told the Telegraph. “But I was already stunned by Emmanuel Macron’s intervention, which paved the way for others to speak. Before that, no one would have dared.”

Ms Ataly, 60, said she was also saddened to see Ms Rampling’s name on the letter.

“I was very surprised to see her name. I am a fan of Charlotte Rampling. I am extremely disappointed.”

On Tuesday, feminist group Osez le féminisme, spoke out against the open letter and called it a tactic to silence victims and to protect a predator on X (formerly Twitter).

“All our support to the victims of Gérard Depardieu who are offered for Christmas yet another celebration of their attacker, because understand, he is important. “Sacred” even. Not them. Never them.”

Feminist and Green party MP Raphaëlle Rémy-Leleu told France Info that the letter defends rape culture and “favours the comfort of the artist and disregards the words of the victims”.

Depardieu last night said of the letter: “I think it’s very courageous on the part of the signatories.

“I was presented with this letter… I found it beautiful and so I told its author that he could publish it.”

The fallout from the letter has already been swift for one of Depardieu’s supporters. The founder of an organisation that helps child victims of violence, Les Papillons, announced that they’ve dropped actor and signatory Pierre Richard as their ambassador.

“Because we are and will always be on the side of the victims and because the platform in support of Gérard Depardieu that he signed is indecent, Pierre Richard is no longer one of the ambassadors of the Les Papillons association,” wrote Laurent Boyet.

In another development, one of the first women to speak publicly about Depardieu, Emmanuelle Debever, 60, died by suicide earlier this month. Though French media reported she died by jumping into the Seine on the day of the documentary’s release Dec 7, one of her sisters said she had been hospitalised for a week before she died on Dec 6 and nixed the idea that the two were related. Police have nevertheless opened an investigation into the circumstances of her death.

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