French Director Luc Besson Accused of Rape

Even as a turbulent Cannes took a bow on Saturday, French director Luc Besson was facing a rape investigation after a 27-year-old actress told French authorities that he drugged and raped her in a Paris hotel room, reports EW. "Luc Besson categorically denies these fantasist accusations," Besson's lawyer said, per the BBC. "[The complainant] is someone he knows, towards whom he has never behaved inappropriately." The unidentified woman says that on May 10, Besson drugged her tea at the Bristol Hotel; she says she awoke to find him groping and penetrating her in what she terms a "violent sexual assault." She says that before the assault, the 59-year-old Besson had made her feel professionally compelled to engage in sexual relations for the past two years. (More Luc Besson stories.)