Actor Depardieu stripped of Belgian honorary title

Pallade Veneta - Actor Depardieu stripped of Belgian honorary title

CULTURE 16.12.2023

Actor Depardieu stripped of Belgian honorary title / Photo: Valery HACHE - AFP/File

A Belgian municipality on Saturday stripped French cinema legend Gerard Depardieu of the title of honorary citizen over misogynistic comments broadcast recently.

Change text size:

Depardieu, 74, was charged with rape in 2020 and has also faced 13 accusations of sexual harassment or assault.

A documentary titled "The Fall of the Ogre" aired on French TV this month showed the actor on a 2018 trip to North Korea repeatedly making explicit sexual comments in the presence of a female interpreter and sexualising a small girl riding a horse.

In a statement, the Belgium municipality of Estaimpuis said it was revoking the title given to Depardieu when he lived there in 2013.

The local authorities said the comments by the actor broadcast on television "run counter to the values promoted by the municipality of Estaimpuis".

The Belgian decision comes after France's culture minister denounced Depardieu's behaviour and said a "disciplinary procedure" was being launched to decide whether to strip Depardieu of the country's top honour, the Legion of Honour.

The actor -- who has more than 200 roles to his name, including in the 1990 comedy "Green Card" and the Netflix series "Marseille" -- has denied any wrongdoing.

In the face of the growing controversy in France, Belgian media has reported that Depardieu has returned to live in the country in a village close to the French border.

Depardieu's initial move to Belgium back in 2012 was heavily criticised in his homeland as it was viewed as a way of dodging the French tax system.

F.Dodaro--PV

Jersey Boys Anniversary Tour Opens in Birmingham With Gritty Account of Crime and Fame

The 20th-anniversary tour of Jersey Boys has opened at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre, offering a gritty and unvarnished look at the Four Seasons’ journey. The production details the band's turbulent rise from New Jersey petty criminals to international rock stars, highlighting the complex personal costs behind their musical success.

UBC professor describes police call after Galloway remark as act of care

VANCOUVER — A University of British Columbia professor has testified about a colleague’s decision to call police to visit Steven Galloway after he was accused of sexual assault, describing it as an “act of care” toward the author, who had spoken of killing himself. Galloway, who is suing his accuser and others in a defamation trial centred on the unproven allegations, has described his subsequent committal to a hospital in the United States as “terrifying.

Pallade Veneta - Actor Depardieu stripped of Belgian honorary title