PARIS, March 25 — French movie star Gerard Depardieu admitted in court on yesterday that he had grabbed by the hips a woman who has accused him of sexual assault, but denied it was assault, attributing any crude comments he had made to being in a bad mood.

The plaintiff, Amelie K, a set decorator, spoke in court after Depardieu, and said the actor had groped her all over her body as he trapped her between his legs and made explicit sexual comments, terrifying her while they were on a film set in 2021.