Gerard Depardieu Explains Peeing Incident

French actor Gerard Depardieu has apologized for peeing in public aboard an airplane in Paris this week and said he offered to "clean up the mess."

In a statement issued to French media, Depardieu's friend and traveling companion on the trip, actor Edouard Baer, said: "Gerard was upset at this and offered to clean up the mess. He has prostate problems and it was very worrying and humiliating for him."

Baer, who said he had passed Depardieu a bottle to urinate in but it overflowed, also said his friend was not inebriated as alleged by a passenger aboard the plane who spoke out to the media. "He was also stone-cold sober at the time. This is not the way he usually behaves."

The incident occurred Tuesday night when the Air France plane was delayed on the tarmac and flight attendants told Depardieu he had to wait 15 minutes before using the restrooms, but he refused. The flight from Paris to Dublin was delayed nearly two hours while the plane was cleaned up.