“Our lives have been turned upside down”: before the courts, actor Nicolas Bedos assures that he is not “a sexual aggressor”

“I don't dispute it”

The alleged facts date back to the night of June 1 to 2, 2023, during a nightclub party. She accuses the director of walking towards her, head down before reaching out his right hand to her genitals, over her jeans. In court, Nicolas Bedos maintained “not remembering anything” of that evening when he celebrated his partner's pregnancy. “I sincerely wish I could remember what happened”. “Our lives have changed, my life has changed” he moaned.

“I don't dispute what she said, but it's her interpretation of a gesture”, he continued, arguing that he would never have been able to put his hand “on a woman's vagina even over jeans”. The defendant acknowledged having a problem with alcohol but said he was in therapy and was drinking less these days, while turning to his partner, Pauline Desmonts, sitting in the front row and to his sister and mother who were also present.

The trial, which was due to take place in February, had been postponed to allow for the examination of the statements of two other women. In the front row, the two other young women who had denounced the director's behaviour listened to this testimony. One of them, a waitress in a Parisian bar, told investigators that Nicolas Bedos grabbed her by the waist and kissed her on the neck on the night of May 11 to 12, 2023, while he was drunk.

The other alleged act, described as sexual harassment, dates back to June 2018. The director is suspected of having touched a young woman's stomach and asking her to kiss him before following her as she went to the toilet. Various figures in French cinema have been caught up in accusations of sexual violence for several months.