In an interview given to Olivier Delacroix for the program “Dans les yeux d’Olivier”, broadcast on France 2, Wednesday January 22, 2025, Maëva Coucke, Miss France 2018, returned to the cyberharassment she suffered after her election . “I felt a wave of hatred,” she confided, before revealing the insults and messages of a sexual nature that she has regularly received since.
It had to be the happiest day of his life. In December 2017, Maëva Coucke was elected Miss France 2018, but the joy of winning the beauty contest was tainted by the cyberharassment that followed her election. “To win Miss France was the dream of my life. I know that in that moment, my life will change. And finally, I felt a wave of hatred. Being insulted as a bitch, a slut… I didn’t ask for that much, I just wanted to win Miss France,” she confided to Olivier Delacroix for the show “In the Eyes of Olivier” , dedicated to “Cybersexism: why so much hatred”, broadcast on France 2, Wednesday January 22, 2025.
“I pick up my phone in the middle of the night, I think about 5 a.m., when I’m finally staying at the hotel, and I see a lot of reviews. Lots of criticism linked to my body shape, especially my weight. And there, I have “broomstick”, “anorexic”, “breadboard”… Finally, I find criticisms that I had experienced younger, when I was in college. Except that there are a lot of French people who come and criticize me, and I had almost never even noticed that people were so mean and so virulent,” commented Maëva Coucke. And slips: “It’s as hurtful to tell someone “you’re anorexic” as it is to tell someone “you’re obese”. It’s not happening, it’s inappropriate. »
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Criticisms, messages of a sexual nature… Maëva Coucke cyberharassed since her election
Critics did not leave the beauty queen indifferent. “A woman’s body is judged much more than a man’s. And sometimes I listened to people, sometimes I believed them,” she confessed. He even thought, “Maybe I’m ugly, maybe I look like a broomstick.” » “That’s when you can’t get carried away by it all because I could have cried about it every day,” she added. Even though she was surrounded, Maëva Coucke felt defenseless: “I felt like I was without a weapon at that moment, and I am 23 years old. I come from my small town, my little countryside, Boulogne-sur-Mer, I know nothing about the world of TV… I realize that the corona will bring me some small problems behind. »
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Beyond the criticism, Maëva Coucke has received messages of a most shocking sexual nature: “I have already received photos of men’s private parts. I’ve had several. It could be videos of a man doing the deed, masturbating. This in particular is despicable and disgusting because we have the impression of being objects. » She denounces: “It is not because we are a public figure that we must accept criticism of all kinds. It’s more and more violent. As the years go by, people become more connected. » And moderation on social networks is not enough according to her. “Because of comments, because of unkind words, people prefer not to be alive anymore. »
The reverse of the crown
Maëva Coucke is not the only Miss to have been a victim of cyberharassment. After Ève Gilles, Miss France 2024, strongly criticized for her physique or her haircut, it is currently Angélique Angarni-Filopon, elected Miss France 2025 last December, who is the target of criticism, both sexist and racist. “I find it sad to take so much comfort in telling someone that you don’t love them. And time too,” she recently declared, lamenting that haters hide behind social networks to spread their hatred. “It’s a bit cowardly, it’s a shame,” she said, and concluded: “The Misses are expensive. »
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