It’s a busy December for Arthur. As he celebrates his 30 years of careerthe emblematic host ofTake it or leave it finds himself at the heart of a controversy after the reappearance of old game show archives.
On social networks, shocking videos showed sequences where Arthur multiplied inappropriate gestures and remarks with certain candidates. He defended himself in an interview with the Parisian and made a radical request to close the case.
Arthur’s past resurfaces
These images were relayed on X, then quickly deleted, but they resurfaced on the Twitch platform and they illustrate the uneasiness well: non-consensual kisses, inappropriate looks, ambiguous remarks and even grunts. “It’s funny because when we see you from there, you seem very small and in fact uh… You are there, your body is there “, for example, he declared to a participant uncomfortable. He even mimed blows on his buttocks with a whip.
What is certain is that these videos come at a bad time, because TF1 has just broadcast a documentary celebrating the host’s 30-year career. And the broadcast of these shocking videos somehow tarnishes his image. In addition, they revive the debates around respect for women.
So, Arthur chose to respond and give his point of view. Asked about these archives by The Parisianhe mentioned a “another era” to explain his behavior. “I was quite close to the candidates. When they cried, men and women alike, I held them in my arms, like a family“, he defended himself. However, he admitted that this type of proximity today would no longer happen.
“Another era” and a radical demand
Mareva Galanter’s husband also justified himself by explaining the context of the time: “We had to make a little daily one-man showbecause the show lasted 40 minutes while the game mechanics only made up half of it. However, for certain observers like the historian Ludivine Bantigny, these gestures go far beyond the scope of entertainment and she qualifies theme “legally as sexual assault”.
Faced with the controversy, Arthur requested a pure and simple deletion of all archives d’Take it or leave it on the web. He actually wishes definitely turn the page on these lackluster passages. But others think he’s just trying to avoid taking responsibility. In any case, even in the digital age, the past is not erased so easily.
