A Paris court on Tuesday found French actor Gérard Depardieu guilty of having sexually assaulted two women on a 2021 film set.
The 76-year-old actor was convicted of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of “Les Volets Verts” – “The Green Shutters”.
Depardieu was subsequently sentenced to serve an 18-month suspended prison sentence.
The case was widely seen as a key test of how French society and its film industry address allegations of sexual misconduct involving prominent figures.
Depardieu, who denied the accusations was not in court during Tuesday’s hearing.
He was Oscar-nominated in 1991 for his performance as the swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac.
During the four-day trial in March, Depardieu rejected the accusations, saying he’s “not like that.”
He admitted that he had used vulgar and sexualised language on the film set and that he grabbed the set dresser’s hips during an argument but denied that his behaviour was sexual.
At the end of the hearings, Depardieu said, “My name has been dragged through the mud by lies and insults.
“A trial can be a very special experience for an actor. Seeing all this anger, the police, the press. It’s like being in a science fiction film, except it’s not science fiction. It’s life.”
Depardieu said he had not worked as an actor for three years since the sexual allegations against him began to circulate.
However, earlier this month, it was reported that he had begun work in the Azores on a film directed by his friend, the actress, Fanny Ardant.
According to media reports, Depardieu was playing a magician on a mysterious island in the film.
