What was to be Julien Lacroix’s big comeback on stage, two years after he was targeted by multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, will ultimately not take place, the comedian announced on his page. Facebook.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have to cancel the event I was planning to hold this week. Serious threats, targeting members of my family among others, and the organization of a demonstration force me to do so, he wrote in a Facebook post. I don’t feel like a high-tension evening where people who have bought tickets risk being taken to task. »
This return to the stage, announced last Wednesday, was to take the form of the recording of a podcast in front of a limited audience of 25 people. They were only to receive the address of the event 24 hours before it was held. The comedian was planning his return to the stage on July 12 to celebrate his two years of sobriety. He also claimed that all proceeds would go “to the prevention of alcoholism and [de] substance abuse among young people.
Lacroix confirmed that spectators who had bought a ticket, the 25 available having also flown away in a few hours, would be contacted by email and reimbursed. “I also have to face the facts, despite the fact that I was personally ready to face the music, both on social networks and in person, all the turmoil caused by this event seriously impacts those close to me”, he regrets.
The announcement of this return, nearly two years after the publication of a survey by To have to in which nine women testified to having been victims of misconduct or sexual assault perpetrated by the comedian, aroused polarized reactions in Quebec. The comments under Lacroix’s Facebook post illustrate this dichotomy, with several Internet users regretting the cancellation of the event while others are delighted.
The one who was a great comedy star in the province ceased his professional activities in the summer of 2020. In January 2021, he had attempted a first public speaking on social networks, saying that he was following “a long therapeutic process” to overcome his addiction to alcohol. In a video broadcast in full by The duty in December 2021, he had expressed his desire, finally realized last week, to reconnect with his audience.