Swiss TV To Scrap Films Featuring Controversial French Star

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Pусский (ru) Швейцарское телевидение ((отменило)) Жерара Депардье

• Share
• facebook
• twitter
• E-mail
• Print
• Copy link

A spokesman for RTS confirmed the decision – initially reported by the Le Matin Dimanche newspaper – to news agency Keystone-SDA on Sunday. The decision is a“pragmatic” one which will be reviewed depending on how the situation develops, he said.

A film will be removed from the TV schedule if“we have the feeling that the majority of the public could feel offended” by it or a person in it, the spokesperson continued. This could also happen if courts have not yet delivered a verdict. It is the task of a public broadcaster to cater to the mood of its audience, RTS indicated.

+ Read more: are 'dick pics' porn, harassment or abuse?

Women have repeatedly come forward to accuse Depardieu of sexual violence in recent years. In 2018, actress Charlotte Arnould sued him for rape; the case has been under investigation since 2020. Another lawsuit against him for sexual abuse has been ongoing since mid-September, regarding an alleged 2007 incident.

The award-winning actor, who has appeared in over 200 films, denies the allegations.

Depardieu's image was recently further tarnished by the broadcast of a documentary film in which he made misogynistic remarks. In“Complément d'enquête”, a programme about a trip to North Korea which was broadcast at the beginning of December, Depardieu shocked viewers with misogynistic and degrading comments.

“Women like to ride because their clitoris rubs against the saddle,” he said on camera. The programme also shows him visiting a stud farm, before he again says things which put his North Korean interpreter on the spot, such as“I weigh 124 kilos – with an erection 126”.

The remarks sparked international reaction. French Culture Minister Rima Abdul-Malak said they were“disgusting” and that Depardieu's behaviour was a“disgrace to France”.

RTS has previously made similar decisions, for example regarding French comedian Pierre Palmade. In February, while driving under the influence of cocaine, Palmade caused an accident in which three people were seriously injured.

Send us your input

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them hereExternal link .

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look hereExternal link , and if you have feedback on this news story please write to ...External link .

Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox.

Daily

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.

I consent to the use of my data for the SWI swissinfo newsletter.

Articles in this story

• Do you have more questions about this story?

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at ... .

MENAFN03012024000210011054ID1107681697