Nearly a year after standing by her father, Gérard Depardieu, during his trial, Roxane Depardieu has returned to social media to address what she says she’s been experiencing since then.
The 34-year-old visual artist says she has been the target of constant cyberbullying and decided to share an open letter denouncing hateful messages, many of which are racist and homophobic in nature.
The letter was initially shared by her cousin, singer Alexiane and later posted by Roxane herself to her Instagram Stories. Written in English, a language she admits she never fully learned, it begins by stating aspects of her identity: “I would like to say that I am a mixed-race black and white lesbian and deeply in love with a woman.”
In the same text, Roxane makes harrowing revelations about her past. “I was raped at six years old by a psychopath who then stalked me for ten years looking through my window, he was just put in jail,” she writes. She adds: “Then I was raped at 7 years old by a man who was supposed to take me horseback riding in the desert. Then I was raped and drugged twice at 25, it was a medicine man, I fought for my life. So to all those who wish me to be raped I have already been through it, thank you.”
Hate Messages and Criticism of Her Father
In the post, the daughter of the French actor claims she has been primarily attacked by women and issues a direct message: “Perhaps with your permission I will be allowed to express my thoughts and have an opinion in response to extremist feminists and internet trolls.”
Roxane acknowledges that her father’s behavior “now seems inappropriate because This proves,” but suggests it’s not an isolated case. “All of you, men and women that I have seen with my own eyes, I have seen everywhere and in all social classes, in a restaurant, hospital, factory…,” she emphasizes, arguing that “every soul is equal, the ‘elite’ simply do it in an ‘aesthetically pleasing context.’”
In addition to the text, she shared screenshots of some of the messages she says she regularly receives, where she is insulted, referred to as male, and criticized for her physical appearance and ancestry. “This year I have been cyberbullied with enormous malice just because of my father and his problems. Messages marked by a lot of racism and homophobia,” she denounced in another post.
Born in 1992 in France, Roxane Depardieu is the daughter of Gérard Depardieu and writer and director Karine Silla. She has been in a relationship with Chantelle Broomes for about a decade.
In May of last year, the actor was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women during the filming of “Les volets verts” in 2021, and was sentenced to 18 months of suspended prison time and ordered to pay damages to the victims. Roxane’s presence at the trial, wearing a shirt with an offensive expression directed at the public, had already generated controversy and a strong reaction on social media. The case and subsequent fallout have sparked wider conversations about accountability and power dynamics within the French film industry.
