Emmanuelle Debever.Photo:Facebook
Emmanuelle Debever, a French actor who was among a number of women to accuseGerard Depardieuof sexual assault and harassment in recent years, has died. She was 60.
A representative for the Paris prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment Thursday.
Emmanuelle Debever.Facebook
Somereportsregarding Debever’s deathnoted that it occurred on the same day that French broadcaster France 2 aired an episode of the investigative news seriesComplément d’Enquêtecentered around the number ofallegations made against actor Depardieu, 74, in recent years. However, Debever was not connected with the documentary.
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A spokesperson for France’s state-run France Television told PEOPLE Thursday that theComplément d’Enquêteepisode in question does not mention Debever nor her allegations made against Depardieu in a2019 Facebook post. The show was never in touch with Debever regarding those allegations, the spokesperson said.
Depardieu was previously charged withraping a young actressat his Paris home in 2018; that case continues to make its way through France’s court system. He wasinitially accused of rape and sexual assaultin 2018 andformally chargedin December 2020. At one point in June 2019, the investigation into him temporarily was dropped due to a lack of evidence, perThe Independent. After that, Debever appeared to share her allegations of assault and harassment on social media.
“Mr. Depardieu, today acquitted of rape and sexual assault. No comment,” she wrote in a June 4, 2019 Facebook post, translated to English. In the post, Debever alleged Depardieu of groping her during their time working together on the 1983 movieDanton.
In October, Depardieu published an open letter in the French outletLe Figaroin which he said he has “never, ever abused a woman” as he acknowledged allegations made against him. “A woman came to my house for the first time, with a light step, going up to my room of her own free will. She says today that she was raped there. She came back a second time,” the French actor wrote in his open letter, perDeadline’stranslation of the letter.
Emmanuelle Debever and Gerard Depardieu in 1983’s ‘Danton’.United Archives GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
United Archives GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
“I played Louison, Danton’s very young wife. The sacred monster had allowed himself many things during this filming… Enjoying the privacy inside a carriage,” she alleged at the time. “Slipping his big paw under my skirts, supposedly to make me feel better… Me, not letting myself do it.”
Debever appeared in 13 French-language movies and television shows between 1982 and 1989, according to her IMDb profile.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
source: people.com
