Several actresses accuse director Philippe Lioret (“Welcome”, “Le Fils de Jean”, etc.) of “inappropriate” behavior, going as far as “forced kisses”, during auditions for his films, according to an investigation from Radio France published Tuesday.
“It’s like an abuse of power: he allows himself, because I’m waiting for this role, to steal a kiss from me,” the actress told Radio France’s investigation unit.
Another actress would have been the victim of an non-consensual kiss at the same time after testing for this film. “At that time, I didn’t tell myself that it was a sexual assault. But today, looking back, I think it was,” she confides, under a pseudonym.
“It was more and more unpleasant. He wanted to touch me more so that it would be more real,” Elodie Frenck told Radio France, who ended the test and did not get the role.
In a text posted online by Radio France, Marie Gillain, who obtained the main female role of “All our desires”, evokes “a feeling of unease” during the tests due to the “carnal attitude” of the filmmaker.
“I didn’t tell him. Probably because he had all the powers at that time,” she writes, specifying that she did not experience a “problematic situation” during the filming or promotion of the film.
Contacted by AFP, the director’s lawyer assures that he is “collapsed”. “If his way of behaving could have hurt certain women, he is sorry,” said Me Solange Doumic.
Mr. Lioret could not be reached by AFP.
