Will Slimane's career be put on hold for the duration of legal proceedings? The man who filed complaints against the artist for sexual harassment mentions tangible elements.
Can the singer and composer Slimane continue to sing on television sets or go on tour dates as if the complaint for sexual harassment filed against him did not exist? This Friday, November 1, the artist is expected to perform at the NRJ Music Awards, which should generate many comments. It must be said that Slimane is accused by one of his former technicians of sexual harassment, with these elements mentioned quite clearly.
Slimane chose not to react directly, and not to comment publicly on this complaint, letting his entourage assure the media that he was very surprised by this affair and by the allegations made by the complainant. The popular singer, who has become an icon of TF1, is now targeted on social networks for his silence. There are also criticisms of TF1, which has chosen to continue its collaboration with him. Remember that Slimane is presumed innocent and that no binding legal proceedings have been initiated against the artist.
But what accusations are these? The alleged facts took place on the night of December 17 to 18, 2023 at the Zénith in Saint-Étienne during the star's “Cupid Tour” tour, according to the man who made the accusations. A complaint was filed on Monday October 28, 2024 in the capital of the Loire department. If the facts stated are proven, Slimane risks a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 15,000 euros. According to information from Parisianthe technician who accuses Slimane would have, according to his version of the facts, been blocked against a wall by the artist, who would have “imposed[é]” then “an embrace”. A scene which would have taken place after the concert, backstage, during a party organized to mark the end of the first part of the tour, around one o'clock in the morning. “Slimane explains to him that he wants to have sex with him. His interlocutor replies that he is not interested, that he is heterosexual and married, but the singer insists and takes him to his dressing room,” explains the daily.
In the columns of Parisianthe plaintiff's lawyer, Me Anne-Sophie Charrieras, reports that despite the state of unease in which her client was plunged, Slimane would have insisted with the latter, asking him if “other members of the team” might be interested. After leaving his dressing room and joining the tour bus, he received “for two and a half hours a multitude of messages and videos of a sexual, even pornographic, nature”, assures the magistrate.
Rumors and suspicions
The next morning, the technician recounts the alleged facts to the company that employs him. The latter relayed the information to the tour's production company – Play Two – and informed it of its decision to withdraw its two employees from Slimane's tour. Still according to information from ParisianSlimane and his manager were received by the production to be “reminded of the ethical principles of their collaboration”. A new team has been recruited for a resumption of concerts planned for February 2025.
If rumors are circulating according to which the technician accusing Slimane was offered money in return for his silence, his lawyer wanted to remove any suspicion: “Since the facts (my client) has been worried about the repercussions that this will have on his family and his professional future Slimane is very popular, among people and artists – he is at Enfoirés -, and my client is afraid of being sidelined. However, it is “unbearable to find yourself in the position of the one who was bought. He does not want to throw the artist out to pasture”, she continued in the columns of the Parisian. For their part, the family of the accused contacted by the daily speaks of a “crazy story”, and says they were not aware of the complaint.
The star of TV shows, known for his role as a juror in The Voice Kids and who represented France at the Eurovision contest last May with the title My love, would have already behaved inappropriately during the “Versus” tour with singer Vitaa. “In the first months of 2024, more or less precise facts come to the media,” indicates The Parisian. On the other hand, here, no complaint has been filed.
