Spanish journalist becomes latest woman to make rape claim against Gerard Depardieu – two weeks after actress who also accused him of assault jumped to her death into the Seine

A Spanish journalist has made a new accusation of rape against French film star Gerard Depardieu – two weeks after another alleged victim jumped to her death into the River Seine.

Ruth Baza, 51, filed a complaint with police in Spain last week over the alleged rape, joining more than a dozen other women who have accused the 74-year-old Oscar and Bafta-nominated actor of sexually assaulting them.

The Spanish writer claimed she was raped by Depardieu when she interviewed him in Paris for Cinemania magazine on October 12, 1995.

She claims Depardieu kissed her on the face and penetrated her with his fingers through her clothes – an accusation formally filed as rape by police, La Vanguardia reports.

Baza, who was 23 at the time while Depardieu was 46, spoke of “an infringement without any consent, at any time”, adding that she felt “paralyzed” during the incident.

It is said to have taken place in the building of the former production company Roissy Films.

She initially spoke to AFP about “sexual assault”, but when asked if she had been raped, she said yes.

“The police described it as such,” she said.

Under Spain's sexual consent law passed last year, the charge of sexual assault covers a wide range of crimes, from online abuse and groping to rape, each with different possible punishments.

A conviction for rape carries a maximum sentence of fifteen years.

Depardieu, an icon of French cinema with more than 200 roles to his name, was accused of rape in France in 2020 and has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by more than a dozen women.

A French television report this month showing footage of the actor making sexist comments has put the allegations back in the spotlight and reignited the debate about sexism in French cinema.

Baza told AFP she had “completely” forgotten about the alleged assault until she read an investigation published on the news website Mediapart in April, in which thirteen women accused the actor of sexual assault.

The article caused an “internal click” and “flashes” of memories, which she said was confirmed by personal notes she made at the time.

The criminal complaint has little chance of leading to charges against the actor, as the events it refers to are already time-barred in France.

Baza said she nevertheless decided to file her complaint, hoping it would “help other people” do the same.

Prosecutors in Paris are also investigating the “mysterious death” of actress Emmanuelle Debever, 60, who claimed she was also sexually assaulted by Depardieu.

There are now fears that Debever's final hours could be linked to multiple allegations of abuse made by women against the film star.

Ms Debever disappeared from the home she shared with an unknown partner in Paris late last month, before apparently jumping from a bridge in the French capital eight days later.

She survived the fall and was picked from the water by rescuers, but died in hospital shortly afterwards.

This was on December 7 – the exact day a new documentary entitled Gérard Depardieu: The Fall of the Ogre was broadcast across France.

It contained disturbing details of an alleged attack by Depardieu on Ms Debever when she was a teenager.

It was initially thought that Ms Debever had committed suicide, but when detectives became aware of the numerous allegations made against Depardieu on the France 2 programme, the direction of the investigation changed.

A spokesperson for Paris prosecutors said: 'It was then reported in the media that this actress (Ms Debever) had complained about inappropriate behavior by Gérard Depardieu, in particular through a Facebook post in 2019.

'Given this new element, an investigation was opened into the causes of (Ms Debever's) death.'

The case was entrusted to the judicial police, who must “investigate the circumstances that may have led to this mysterious death,” the spokesperson said.

A week before the investigation was launched, another French actress became the second woman to file a formal sexual abuse complaint against Depardieu, saying he treated her like “a piece of meat.”

Paris prosecutors confirmed that Hélène Darras, 43, had filed a complaint against Depardieu in September. The pair appeared together in the 2007 film Disco, when Darras was 26, and were allegedly attacked.

Ms Darras waived her legal right to anonymity and said in the same documentary series on the Further Inquiry (Complément d'enquete): 'He (Depardieu) is unruly.

'He looks at me like I'm a piece of meat. I have a super tight dress, he pulls me closer to him by the waist, and then he runs his hand over my hips, over my buttocks.'

Ms Darras said Depardieu smelled of “spilled alcohol” when he invited her into his dressing room.

She said she was initially afraid to complain about the “king of the show,” so she waited sixteen years before going to the authorities.

It follows at least 14 other women joining alleged rape victim Charlotte Arnould, now 28, in accusing the actor of criminal behavior.

There is CCTV footage of Depardieu performing a sex act with Arnould at his Paris mansion in August 2018, but he insists it was consensual.

Ms Arnould waived her legal right to anonymity at the end of 2021, after Depardieu was accused of rape and sexual assault.

Within days of his indictment, Depardieu was back working on the River Seine location of the police drama Maigret And The Dead Girl, in which he starred with Jade Labeste.

In October, he broke his silence on claims that he is a serial sexual abuser, saying: “I am neither a rapist nor a predator.”

On Monday, the Grevin Museum in Paris removed Depardieu's wax figure amid the new claims.

This followed the decision of the Belgian municipality to deprive the actor of the title of honorary citizen, after the Canadian province of Quebec also withdrew the highest honor from the actor.