Actor and director Edouard Baer, 57, faces accusations of harassment and sexual assault brought by six women. According to a five-month investigation by Mediapart and the magazine “Cheek”, the alleged acts allegedly occurred between 2013 and 2021.
Contacted by Mediapart, the actor apologized. “It is with astonishment and great sadness that I discovered the testimonies that you bring to me,” he initially responded.
“I do not recognize myself in the words or gestures attributed to me, but I can only express my regret that my behavior made these women uncomfortable or hurt. I didn’t have the intelligence to perceive it. I am deeply sorry. I never intentionally tried to hurt them. I apologize to them,” explained Edouard Baer.
The investigation notably highlights the testimony of Raphaëlle*, 26 years old. Contacted by Édouard Baer on Instagram, she recounted a meeting in 2021 in his office in Paris. “The young woman is confident: her father and the actor’s uncle know each other,” said Mediapart.
“Arriving on the scene, she discusses with Édouard Baer the link that exists between her father and him, then, according to her story, discusses his writings. Suddenly, the actor would have stopped greeting her and said to her: “You seem to have a very pretty nipple.” In a humorous tone, the young woman allegedly asked him to “calm down”. “Sorry to insist, but you really look like you have a very nice nipple,” he allegedly repeated a few minutes later,” the article said.
The young woman then specified that Edouard Baer would have taken “her left breast in his hand” while they were taking the elevator. She allegedly pushed the actor away before leaving the scene.
Another testimony, that of Elsa*, mentioned a “hand on the buttocks” before a dinner after a play. “I had been on the job for five months, it was my first job, I think I didn’t want to cause any problems. There had not yet been #MeToo… If it had happened afterwards, I would not have reacted the same,” confided the alleged victim.
That’s not all. We learn in the investigation that the actor also allegedly sexually assaulted Emma* by trying to “forcibly kiss her on the neck and on the mouth”. She was 22 years old. The scene would have taken place in 2019, after the recording of a radio show.
Three other women reported incidents of harassment and sexual assault between 2016 and 2018, when Edouard Baer was contacted to relaunch the Radio Nova morning show. “At the time of the commercial break, before I pass, Édouard approaches me, he takes my arm and he bites me,” explained Camille*.
Anne*, a young woman intern at Radio Nova, said she had also suffered harassment from the actor. She alerted her superior in July 2018, “when Edouard Baer was no longer working on the radio.”
