An investigation has been opened following the reported suicide of a French actor who made sexual assault allegations against Gérard Depardieu.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said 60-year-old Emmanuelle Debever, who acted with Depardieu, 74, in the 1983 film Danton, died after being rushed to hospital on 7 December, one week after leaving a “worrying” note for her partner.
It was reported by French newspaper Libération on Tuesday (12 December) the actor died by suicide on 7 December – the same day an investigative documentary was aired on national TV channel France 2 about allegations against Cyrano de Bergerac actor Depardieu.
In 2019, Debever, a promising young talent in French cinema in the 1980s, became one of the first women to accuse Depardieu of historic sexual misconduct, claiming that the French star slid his hand up her skirt during the production of Danton.
She wrote on Facebook, alongside a photo of herself with the French star: “Holy Monster had quite a few things going on during this shoot... enjoying the privacy of inside a caravan. Sliding his big paw under my skirt to feel better to speak. Me, not letting myself be made.”
A documentary about historic sexual misconduct allegations against Gérard Depardieu aired in France earlier this month— (Getty Images)
At the time, Depardieu strongly denied the allegations, telling French newspaper Le Figaro he had “never, ever abused a woman”.
He said: “I can no longer consent to what I hear, what I have read about myself for several months. I finally want to tell you my truth. I have never, ever abused a woman. Hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach.”
Debever’s allegation was included in a new documentary titled Gérard Depardieu: The Fall of the Ogre, which was broadcast on 7 December on the TV channel France 2. It also covered a range of other claims made against the award-laden actor.
In 2020, Depardieu was indicted on rape and sexual assault charges after being accused of raping and sexually assaulting French film star Charlotte Arnould, 28, at his Paris mansion in 2018.
The case was initially dropped in 2019, with authorities citing a lack of evidence, but was reopened in 2020 when criminal charges were filed. He is currently awaiting trial or for the charges to be dismissed.
Further allegations came this year, when Depardieu was accused in April of sexually inappropriate behaviour by 13 women. At the time, he denied any criminality through his Paris-based law firm.
Earlier this month, on the same day of Debever’s death, French media outlets reported a new complaint had been filed against Depardieu by French actor Hélène Darras.
Darras, who worked with Depardieu on the 2008 film Disco, claims she was sexually assaulted on the film’s set.
