Disgraced French star Gerard Depardieu denies rape allegations in an explosive open letter

French actor Gerard Depardieu broke his silence on allegations of rape and sexual assault against him, denouncing a lynching orchestrated by a "media court".

In an open letter published in the opinion pages of Le Figaro, one of France's leading daily newspapers, he wrote: "Never, ever have I abused a woman."

In a lengthy text written in a literary style, the 74-year-old actor concluded: "To the media court, to the lynching that has been reserved for me, I have only my word to defend myself."

It was the first time that Depardieu had responded to allegations published in April by the investigative website Mediapart.

They revealed fresh accusations of sexual violence against him from more than a dozen women, with some of the allegations going back to the early 2000s.

In December 2020, he was placed under formal investigation for rape and sexual assault after an actress accused him of having raped her on two occasions in his apartment in 2018, when she was 22.