The former Star Academy choreographer accuses Bruno Vandelli of having raped him when he was a minor. This Monday, November 4, it was with a lot of emotion that he spoke to Faustine Bollaert, on France 2, in It begins today.
With his exceptional talent and his keen sense of the punchline, Yanis Marshall quickly became one of the notable figures of the strong return of the Star Academyin 2020. The revival of TF1's telecrochet was able to combine a touch of nostalgia with a certain freshness to attract a new audience while bringing back the old ones. In this context, the choice to name this daring choreographer as dance teacher in Dammarie-les-Lys was a more than successful bet! However, after this season won by Anisha, Kamel Ouali's successor did not return for the 11th edition. He was replaced by Malika Benjelloun, who is still working in season 12 which is currently being broadcast on TF1.
Yanis Marshall testifies with emotion in It starts today
Yanis Marshall, for his part, had made a shock announcement in January 2024 on his Instagram account. “It has been several years since the events of which I was a victim, at the age of 14, have haunted me, destroyed me and plunged me into real distress.“, he wrote. The dancer filed a complaint against Bruno Vandelli, famous choreographer and member of the jury of Pop stars in 2022. He accuses the one who was his former teacher of rape of a minor. As the case is not over, Bruno Vandelli remains presumed innocent at this time. This Monday, November 4, Yanis Marshall was careful not to pronounce his name while he testified about his painful story in It starts todayon France 2.
The choreographer very affected to see his name associated with that of his attacker
Facing Faustine Bollaert, Yanis Marshall told everything chronologically. The way in which the touching began, the first time he was raped, the influence he was under and finally, this long work which made him decide to speak out. “I was on the Star Academy, career-wise things were going pretty well for me, but I still wasn't happy. What's going on? In fact, I never will be. I'm on the show where I wanted to be (…) I worked with Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and I'm still destroying my face, want to die and not to be happy“, testified the one who dove into alcohol.
Today, he is better, although he regrets that his name is associated with that of his attacker, whether on the Internet or when people approach him. “This is killing me“, he said, starting to cry. “I have worked all my life to have the career that I have, all my life I grew up in public housing, today I live very well, I am respected in the world of dance… So we can say what 'we want, but when we speak, we are…“A sentence that he was unable to finish, overcome by emotion, but which testifies to the difficulty of daring to speak about sexual assault.
