Luc Besson:

I have never raped a woman

PARIS - French film director Luc Besson on Monday denied raping or drugging a young actress, the first time the maker of The Fifth Element

(1997) has spoken publicly about the sex allegations against him.

A judge reopened a rape investigation into him on Friday, eight months after Paris prosecutors dropped a case brought by Dutch-Belgian actress Sand Van Roy, who claimed that Besson repeatedly raped her over a two-year period.

She is one of nine women who have said they were assaulted or harassed by the powerful director and producer. Van Roy, 28, had minor roles in his

Taxi 5 (2018) and Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets (2017). Besson has admitted to having a relationship with her but dismissed her as a “fantasist”.

“This case is a lie from A to Z. I did not rape that woman, I have never raped a woman in my life,” he told BFMTV.