Depardieu Accuser Dies as Documentary Emerges

French actor Emmanuelle Debever was 60
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 14, 2023 1:45 PM CST
Depardieu's First Accuser Has Died
Gerard Depardieu poses for photographers in Cannes, southern France, in May 2015.   (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

One of several women to accuse actor Gerard Depardieu of sexual misconduct died Tuesday in Paris at age 60, just as a TV documentary about the allegations aired, reports USA Today. Fellow actor Emmanuelle Debever jumped into the Seine river, and her death is classified as a suicide, per the Hollywood Reporter. She died the same day the investigative TV news program program Complément d'Enquête came out with a report detailing the multiple allegations against Depardieu. Debever was the first to accuse him, per the Hollywood Reporter, saying he groped her during the making of the 1982 film Danton. Depardieu is 14 years her senior.

Debever's partner told police she left a "worrying" note behind when she left their home on Nov. 29, and police say she later jumped from a bridge into the river. She was taken to the hospital, where she lived for about a week. It's not clear if the news documentary has any connection to her death; though it aired on Tuesday, promos for the program had been in circulation prior to that.

"It has been reported that the actress had complained of inappropriate behavior by Gerard Depardieu," said the Paris prosecutor's office, per the BBC. "In view of this new element, an investigation into the cause of her death has been opened." Depardieu, who is under investigation for rape and sexual assault, wrote a public letter in October denying that he had ever assaulted a woman. (If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 or go to 988lifeline.org.)

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