Lou Pernaut has been the victim of cyberharassment for years. She was invited this Thursday, October 17, 2024 on the set of It begins today opposite Faustine Bollaert to talk about it.
Accompanied by Greg Yega and Olympe on the set of It starts todayLou Pernaut shared his difficult experience with the notoriety and consequences of social networks. Lou Pernaut, the daughter of the late Jean-Pierre Pernaut, testified on the cyberbullying of which she has been a victim for several years on social networks. If the young woman is today a public figure followed by thousands of subscribers, she still faces a wave of hatred, which has only grown, particularly after the death of her father.
“I was criticized for existing by my father”
Lou Pernaut began his social media journey at the age of 17, sharing videos with his father. From the outset, she was the target of harsh criticism: “I was criticized for existing by my father“, she confided to Faustine Bollaert. Despite her desire to share family moments, some Internet users criticized her for using her father’s notoriety: “I’m using his notoriety even though I didn’t ask for anything.”she explained. These attacks started from his first videos. She shared several examples of hateful messages she received, which appalled Faustine Bollaert: “I’ve been told ‘your father must be turning in his grave’, ‘you’re useless’, or ‘you would have been better off dying in your father’s place’“.
These comments, particularly painful, did not, however, extinguish his desire to express himself: “Basically, I never cry for not giving credibility to these people.“Faced with these torrents of hatred, the candidate seen in The Fifty initially adopted a combative attitude, often responding to attacks. “I like to respond, and I always like to respond in fact.”she explained. She added: “I responded a lot with violence, then I was 17.” She now admits that this strategy only made the situation worse, because “the more we respond to people, the happier they are, the more they hate us”, but the young woman says she continues to respond to all comments.
“I live to help, I don’t want to stop because of these people”
Lou Pernaut never considered leaving social networks. For her, it is important to denounce the dangers of cyberbullying and to support those who are victims: “The number of subscribers is not real life“, she clarified. “There are also a lot of positives with social networks, there is scope to talk about cyberharassment“, added the young woman, wishing to raise awareness among others on this subject. She maintains a positive attitude: “I live for myself, I live to help, I want to have good times and I don’t want to stop because of these people“. She also recalled that she was well surrounded by her family, who always had “a lot of hindsight” on hateful Internet comments. Today, the ex-candidate of the Fifty plans to take legal action against his harassers. She “plans to file a complaint soon” for certain hateful messages she received.
