Gérard Depardieu, Citing Poor Health, Calls for Postponement of Sexual Assault Trial

French film star Gérard Depardieu will not attend his trial, starting in Paris this week, on charges of sexual assault and has requested a postponement, citing health concerns.

Depardieu was scheduled to appear in court for the trial, set to kick off in Paris on Monday. Two women accuse the Green Card and Cyrano de Bergerac actor of sexual assault related to alleged events on the set of the film The Green Shutters in 2021.

Depardieu’s lawyer Jérémie Assous said Monday that his client had been advised by his doctors against attending the hearing in person for health reasons. Assous noted that his client is “75 years old and has been a diabetic for 25 years,” adding that he has requested a postponement of the trial.

“Gérard Depardieu is extremely upset, and unfortunately his doctors forbid him from attending the hearing, which is why he will request an adjournment to a later date so that he can be present,” Assous said in an interview with RTL France. He added that Depardieu wanted to “express himself” on the facts of the case. The French actor denies all charges against him.

“I expect justice to be the same for everyone and for Mr. Depardieu not to benefit from preferential treatment because he is an artist,” Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, a lawyer for one of the women in the case, told Agence France-Presse.

The Green Shutters case is the first of multiple sexual allegations against Depardieu to go to trial and the hearing is being watched closely as the highest-profile #MeToo-style trial in France of a major entertainment figure.

French actress Charlotte Arnould has also accused Depardieu of two acts of rape dating back to 2018, allegations that are currently working their way through the courts. Last year the French investigative news site Médiapart published detailed allegations from 13 women who accused the actor of sexually inappropriate behavior. A TV expose on the investigative show Complément d’Enquête highlighted further incidents stretching back years.

Depardieu has always maintained his innocence and published an open letter in the conservative Le Figaro newspaper saying his behavior had been misinterpreted.