Gérard Depardieu Airplane Incident Chalked Up to Prostate Problems?

Poor Gérard Depardieu... you have one tiny peeing-on-a-plane incident and the whole world chalks it up to your inherent craziness when the real culprit may not have been bad behavior or drunkenness, but prostate issues. We've all been there before, stuck on an aircraft with the seat belt light on and a full bladder; can we cut the French acting legend a break and move past what French media have apparently termed "pipigate?"

Wednesday's reports of Depardieu's urinary incident on an Air France plane to Dublin suggested that the 62-year-old actor was just rolling honey badger-style, peeing up a storm on the plane carpet just because he could. Not so, says Depardieu's traveling companion and co-headlining cast mate on Asterix: God Save Britannia, the film sequel they were heading to shoot in Ireland when the incident occurred.

"[Depardieu] couldn't wait, so I found this solution," Edoard Baer explained to Europe 1 radio (via the UK Telegraph). "I had a little Evian bottle with me, only it was too small so it overflowed He wanted to clear it up, but the hostess wouldn't let him. It was naturally very embarrassing and humiliating for him. He didn't do any grand gestures and shout: 'I'm going to piss'. Whatever the larger-than-life nature of my friend Gérard, no one is that crazy."

And further:

"No one is flattered to have a dodgy prostate and be obliged to urinate...I stopped him because he wanted to go and explain to the crew, he was sorry and he was furious but didn't lose his temper."

So there you have it. Not so funny now, is it Anderson Cooper?

· Gerard Depardieu's plane incident down to prostate problems [UK Telegraph]