Gérard Depardieu Describes Himself as a 'Disgusting Slob' on Witness Stand, But Denies Sexual Assault

On day two of Gérard Depardieu’s landmark sexual assault trial in Paris, the longtime French actor admitted to using vulgar language and grabbing the hips of his accuser to make a point but denies any criminal wrongdoing.

The actor, 76, is accused of groping a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant director while they were shooting the 2022 film, Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters), the Associated Press reports. 

“I understand perfectly if she’s a bit upset,” Depardieu said on the stand Tuesday, the AP and ABC News report. “I don’t have to talk like that, get angry like that, voilà.”

But that doesn’t mean he is a sexual predator, he insisted, saying during his hour of testimony that “I don’t touch women’s butts,” ABC News and the AP report.

His actions, he said, were a “type of aggression,” according to ABC News and the AP.

“But certainly not sexual,” he said. “Non!” he shouted.

Later, he said, “I don’t see why I’d want to grope a woman,” according to The New York Times. “I’m not someone who rubs himself against others on the subway.”

Depardieu explained that he was in a “bad mood” the day he allegedly sexually assaulted the set dresser because it was hot, which was uncomfortable for him because he is overweight, the AP and ABC News report.

He said he became heated while arguing over a painting, the AP and ABC News report.

When the set dresser took the stand, she testified that she was trying to get past him in a narrow hallway when he trapped her between his legs.

She said he grabbed her hips then started “palpating” her behind and grabbed her chest, the AP and ABC News report.

“I tried to free myself, I tried to take his hands away, I couldn’t do it,” she testified. “He terrified me, he laughed, he looked like a madman.”

She was able to escape after someone on set stepped in and took the actor’s hands off of her, she said.

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“I saw in his eyes a pleasure in frightening me, that’s what I felt, it’s savagery,” she said. “He terrified me, and that amused him.”

The actor testified that he grabbed the woman by the hips so he wouldn’t slip, the Times reports.

Over the years, more than 20 women have accused Depardieu of sexual misconduct — but this is the first time he’s facing trial, Reuters and NBC News report.

If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of €75,000, or approximately $81,000.