Luc Besson, one of France’s best-known film directors, has denied raping or drugging a young actress.<\/p>\n
Dutch-Belgian actress Sand Van Roy accused Mr Besson of repeatedly raping her over a two-year period.<\/p>\n
An investigating judge reopened the case last week, eight months after prosecutors dropped it, following a new complaint by Ms Van Roy.<\/p>\n
Mr Besson dismissed her as a “fantasist”, although he admitted having had a relationship with her.<\/p>\n
Speaking publicly about the claim for the first time on Tuesday, he told BMFTV that it was a “complete and utter lie”. He added: “I have never raped a woman in my life.”<\/p>\n
Ms Van Roy accused Mr Besson of raping her at a hotel in Paris in May 2018. But the original investigation ended when Paris prosecutors said there was not enough evidence.<\/p>\n
Eight other women have spoken to the French investigative news website Mediapart and accused the director of sexual misconduct.<\/p>\n
There are few details about those claims. The statute of limitation on some of them has been reached, the website said.<\/p>\n
Besson, 60, a director, producer and screenwriter, is most famous for directing the 1988 film The Big Blue, as well as Subway, Leon, The Fifth Element and action thriller Nikita.<\/p>\n
He recently directed the action thriller Anna, starring Sasha Luss and Helen Mirren.<\/p>\n
Ms Van Roy, 28, played minor roles in two of his films, Taxi 5 and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"