Gerard Depardieu has denied the allegations (Ian West/PA)
Rape and sexual assault accusations against actor Gerard Depardieu are being investigated by authorities in France.
A French judicial official said a woman filed a complaint on Monday near the southern city of Aix-en-Provence and the case was assigned to Paris prosecutors on Wednesday.
The French film star has denied the allegations.
Gerard Depardieu has been accused of sexual assault and rape (Ian West/PA)
Depardieu’s lawyer Herve Temime said on France’s BFM TV that the actor “absolutely denies any rape, any sexual assault, any crime”.
Depardieu was “shaken” by the “groundless” accusations, Temime said
French newspaper Le Parisien and BFM TV said the woman, a 22-year-old comedian and dancer, reported that the 69-year-old assaulted her on August 7 and August 13 at his Paris home.
The two met when Depardieu led a master class at her school, BFM TV reported.
Depardieu has appeared in 200 films over six decades and holds a rare position as a French actor who is known in Hollywood.
He won a Golden Globe for his performance in Green Card, a 1990 English-language romantic comedy co-starring Andie MacDowell.
