Gérard Depardieu acknowledges boorish behavior but denies sexual assault

Actor Gerard Depardieu returns to the courtroom after a break for his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

PARIS — Actor Gérard Depardieu acknowledged Tuesday that he used crude and heated 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 understand perfectly if she’s a bit upset,” he said of the set dresser he worked with on a movie in 2021. He acknowledged that he sometimes has a potty mouth, telling the court: “I am capable of trash talk.” And he admitted that he was wrong to use heated language with the woman when they had an on-set argument about a painting.

“I don’t have to talk like that, get angry like that, voilà,” he said in his gruff, deep voice so familiar to global cinema goers.

The 76-year-old former Oscar nominee has denied sexual assault allegations filed by the 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant. The women allege that he groped them during filming in 2021 of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”). The actor faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($81,000) if convicted.

Depardieu acknowledged that he did “grab the hips” of the set dresser during their argument on set about whether a painting was good or bad art.

But he said his gesture hadn’t been ill-intentioned and argued that she hadn’t appeared offended, saying: “She didn’t answer as if I was assaulting her.”

He acknowledged that sometimes his behavior is regarded as boorish.

“I’ve always been told I have a Russian nature, I don’t know if it’s because of the drinking or the vulgarity,” he said.

But he said he’s not a predator. “I’m not touching the butts of women,” he said.

Because of Depardieu’s fame and impact on the French movie industry, his trial is seen as an important test of French willingness to confront sexual violence and hold influential men accountable.