Second Woman Accuses French Director Luc Besson of Sexual Assault | THR News - video Dailymotion

A French casting director has accused the 'Lucy' and 'The Fifth Element' director of sexual violence and demanding favors for sex.

Transcript

00:00A second woman has accused French director Luc Besson of sexual assault,

00:04according to reports in the French media. A 49-year-old casting director has claimed

00:09she was assaulted by Besson and that he also demanded sexual favors from her on set.

00:13Besson's screen credits include Lucy, Nikita, The Fifth Element and his most recent feature,

00:19Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which was a pricey flop and put the future

00:24of his studio, EuropaCorp, in doubt. The new claims were first published by French investigative

00:29website Mediapart and reported by the AFP. They follow allegations filed two months ago

00:34by a 27-year-old actress who claimed Besson raped her. French police are investigating the rape

00:40claim, which the French movie mogul's lawyer has publicly denounced as fantasist accusations.

00:45The 49-year-old casting director said that she was assaulted by the director every time

00:50I took the lift with him and that he also demanded sexual favors from her on set.

00:55Two other women told Mediapart that Besson behaved inappropriately with them, with one

01:00actress claiming she had to escape from a casting in his Paris office on her hands and knees.

01:04In a statement to AFP Tuesday, Besson's office said the director categorically denies any type

01:10of inappropriate or reprehensible behavior. Adding,

01:13Mr. Besson is reserving his answers for the investigators so that his innocence can be shown.

01:19Mediapart said that the casting director had written to prosecutors with the fresh allegations.

01:24The site also claims that the actress who had made the rape claim has leveled a further

01:28allegation against Besson. French prosecutors Tuesday said publicly they had yet to receive

01:33the new complaints. For more on this story, head to THR.com.

01:37For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.