Gérald Marie
Gérald Marie is a French former model agency boss, who headed Elite Model Management, in Paris.
Career
In February 2021, 11 women who accused Marie of sexual misconduct and rape were invited to Paris to meet investigators.[1] Karen Mulder a supermodel in the 1990´s was forced to spend 5 months in a mental health issue facilities because she went on TV to say she was raped by him multiple time as well as other high profile figures ( royalties, politicians etc..) she wasn’t believed . In July 2021, American model Carré Otis filed a complaint against him[2] for allegedly raping her when she was 17.[3] In August 2021, Otis filed a lawsuit alleging that he repeatedly raped her at his Paris apartment.[4][5] At least 15 women have gone to French authorities with sexual assault allegations against him.[6] His ex-wife, Canadian model Linda Evangelista, said she knew nothing about the reported alleged rapes and sexual assaults, during her relationship with him but believes the women who have come forward are telling the truth, and praised their courage.[7]
On the 13th of February 2023, French prosecutors announced they had closed their criminal investigation into the rape and sexual assaults, allegedly committed by Marie during the 1980s and 1990s, on the grounds that under France's statute of limitations, the alleged offences had taken place too long ago to be prosecuted.[8][9]
The decision to drop the criminal investigations did not prevent alleged victims from pursuing claims against Marie through the civil courts. Former BBC journalist, Lisa Brinkworth, is among alleged victims who said they would progress civil cases against Gérald Marie. Brinkworth claims she was sexually assaulted in a Milan nightclub by Marie in 1998, while she was working undercover on a documentary investigation into sex crimes against fashion models.[9][10] She also said she would be applealing the French criminal prosecutor's decision.
He was the president of Elite Model Management European division and was one of the most powerful men in fashion.[11]
Personal life
He was married to Canadian fashion model Linda Evangelista[12] between 1987 and 1993.[13]
See also
Notes
- "French police to interview 11 women about Gerald Marie abuse allegations". the Guardian. February 12, 2021.
- "Supermodel Carre Otis calls out former modelling agency boss over alleged rape". torontosun.
- "La legendaria supermodelo Carré Otis demanda a Gérald Marie por violarla a los 17 años". El País. August 15, 2021.
- "Former model Carré Sutton sues Gérald Marie over rape accusation". the Guardian. August 13, 2021.
- Bellafante, Ginia (August 13, 2021). "Why an Ex-Supermodel Who Says She Was Raped at 17 Is Suing Now" – via NYTimes.com.
- "Models allege they were sexually assaulted by French fashion titan Gerald Marie: "He tried to rape me"". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
- Osborne, Lucy (October 16, 2020). "Linda Evangelista praises women accusing her ex-husband of rape". The Guardian.
- France-Presse, Agence (2023-02-15). "French prosecutors close rape investigation into model agency boss". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- Sleator, Laurence. "Time runs out in rape case against former model agency boss Gérald Marie". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- "Ex-BBC employee reports alleged fashion sex assault". BBC News. 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- "'He wanted to control me completely': the models who accuse Gérald Marie of sexual assault". the Guardian. October 17, 2020.
- Paton, Elizabeth (September 7, 2021). "Supermodels Speak Out Against Sexual Harassment" – via NYTimes.com.
- "'What he was doing was in plain sight': more ex-models accuse Gérald Marie of sexual assault". the Guardian. November 20, 2020.