French singer and actor Patrick Bruel, the subject of multiple rape allegations, protested his innocence on Sunday and said he would not step away from his work.
The Paris prosecutor's office announced earlier on Sunday that the 67-year-old was the subject of at least four complaints for sexual assault, and that the cases would be taken together.
Bruel, who has had a string of top-selling albums and appeared in more than 40 films, faces investigations in France and Belgium.
"I have never forced a woman," Bruel wrote on his Instagram page. "And if I may have hurt anyone, I sincerely regret it."
Bruel, who is currently acting in a play in Paris, is scheduled to begin a concert tour on June 16 that will take him around France, as well as to Switzerland, Belgium and Canada.
A petition is circulating, backed by feminist groups, calling for the concerts to be cancelled.
But Bruel insisted Sunday he would "continue to do my job, with the same dedication and the same passion".
Bruel is the latest in a string of French movie and music celebrities to face sexual assault claims. Film legend Gerard Depardieu was sentenced to 18 months in prison last year. His appeal will be heard in November. – AFP
