Legendary French actor Gerard Depardieu has been accused of sexually assaulting and raping a 22-year-old French actress in Paris at his sprawling mansion, earlier this month. However, while he has absolutely denied the allegations, the Paris public prosecutor's office had opened a preliminary inquiry into the matter.
According to several reports, this is not the first time Gerard has been involved in controversy but it is the first time, the 69-year-old actor has been accused of sexual assault. Among many other issues, he criticised the French government for high tax rates for the rich and even got himself a Russian nationality in 2013 after he befriended Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has on various occasions slammed France as a place 'populated by foreigners and imbeciles making wine and stinky cheese'.
The actor is one of France’s biggest international stars who has worked in over 180 films and is most famously known for his role as Cyrano de Bergerac. The actor won the best actor for the role at Cannes Film Festival and was also nominated for the same at the Oscars.