Emmanuelle Debever, the French actress who was the first to accuse Gérard Depardieu of sexual assault, has died by suicide. She was 60.
She passed away on December 7 after jumping into the Seine river, according to local news reports that were later confirmed by police officials, who have classified the death as suicide. Her death came on the same day that a TV show documenting the sexual assault allegations against Depardieu was broadcast.
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The program, part of France 2’s investigative news show Complément d’Enquête, included allegations from Debever. She accused Depardieu of assault during the filming of Andrzej Wajda’s 1982 period drama Danton.
This wasn’t the first time she’d made the allegations. In 2019, Debever wrote a short message on Facebook, accusing Depardieu of “sliding his fat paw under my skirt” as they rode in a carriage on set, adding: “I didn’t allow it to happen.”
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Debever appeared in a series of films in the 1980s but withdrew from the limelight. Liberation reported she had died by suicide, citing the National Audiovisual Institute.
Cyrano de Bergerac actor Depardieu has been accused of a series of sexual assaults, all of which he denies. According to local reports, the France 2 program reported French actress Hélène Darras had lodged a complaint with the Paris Prosecutor’s Office on September 10, related to events on the set of the 2007 dance comedy Disco.
Darras and Charlotte Arnould are the only two women who have publicly filed official complaints, with the latter in 2021 accusing Depardieu of rape. The case is currently making its way through the courts.
Earlier this year, investigative news website Médiapart published an in-depth report detailing allegations by 13 women, one of which was Darras. Another two allegations were reported by French radio station France Inter over the summer.
In October, Depardieu published an open letter denying all the allegations against him in Le Figaro newspaper.
If you or anyone you know are having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255