‘I can no longer stay silent’ says actress accusing Depardieu of rape

Charlotte Arnould claims that actor Gérard Depardieu raped her in 2018, and has waived her right to anonymity in a post on social media

An image of Gérard Depardieu in Cannes in 2015

Gérard Depardieu has been accused of rape by actress Charlotte Arnould

Denis Makarenko / Shutterstock

Emma Morgan Emma Morgan

Published Saturday 18 December 2021 - 08:00 Modified Saturday 18 December 2021 - 08:00

The actress who accused Gérard Depardieu of rape has waived her right to anonymity and taken to social media to say that she can no longer “live hidden in silence.”

Mr Depardieu, 72, was charged on December 16, 2020, for rape and sexual assault, relating to an alleged incident in 2018, and his accuser has now identified herself as Charlotte Arnould, an actress, comedian, dancer and pianist in her mid twenties.

Ms Arnould, who is from Haut-Jura, published a social media post yesterday (December 16), which read: “I am Depardieu’s victim. I can no longer stay silent. I need to live in truth. I am living hidden in silence. It is no longer bearable. I need to express myself.

“It’s now a year since he was charged. He is still working while I spend [all] my time surviving. This life has been passing me by for three years and I want to live without denying myself.”

“Staying silent is like burying myself alive,” Ms Arnould wrote.

Mr Depardieu appeared most recently in Illusions Perdues, a film by Xavier Giannoli which premiered in France in October.

Ms Arnould has accused the actor of two separate rapes, occurring on August 7 and 13 2018 in a house in Paris’ sixth arrondissement.

She had reported these incidents to the gendarmerie of Lambesc (Bouches-du-Rhône) that same month, but the case had later been filed without further action in June 2019.

Ms Arnould had renewed her accusation in August 2020. Mr Depardieu has denied the charges. His lawyer Hervé Temime has said that he “does not wish to comment on the situation.”