(Paris) The statue of French actor Gérard Depardieu was removed on Monday from the tour route of the Grévin museum in Paris, AFP learned from the management of the “Wax Pantheon of Celebrities”.
The decision to withdraw was taken “in the face of negative reactions from visitors (passing in front of the actor’s wax figure, Editor’s note), as well as on our social networks,” said this source.
The recent broadcast of a report on the actor, in the program Complément d’investigation on the France 2 channel, caused a shock wave, with international repercussions. In these images, Gérard Depardieu, indicted for rape since 2020 after accusations that he disputes, multiplies misogynistic and insulting remarks when addressing women.
At the end of last week, the actor of 1492: Christopher Columbus was removed from the National Order of Quebec and his title of honorary citizen of the commune of Estaimpuis.
In France, the Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak announced on Friday a disciplinary procedure for the Order of the Legion of Honor, which could lead to its withdrawal. The former sacred monster of French cinema responded the next day via his lawyers by saying he was making this prestigious distinction “at the disposal” of the minister.
Gérard Depardieu’s family then denounced “a cabal”, in a column published by the Journal du Dimanche, deploring in particular a “collective rage” against the actor.
Created in 1882 on the initiative of journalist Arthur Meyer, founder of Le Gaulois, a powerful daily newspaper of the time, the Grévin museum welcomes 800,000 visitors per year, most often families with children.
The wax statues of 250 historical and contemporary personalities are presented there. Gérard Depardieu inaugurated his wax double in 1981.
