In defense of the defamation lawsuit brought by Quebec choreographer Steve Bolton, The Press seeks to demonstrate that the information reported in this article about him was solid and corroborated — and that those that did not meet his journalistic standards were discarded.
In other words, not everything was included in the report published on the front page of La Presse on December 12, 2017 under the title “Rain of denunciations against a star choreographer. »
Certain behaviors reproached to the choreographer by dancers – and reported to journalists – do not appear in the article.
It reported that around 20 complaints had been filed with the Union des artistes (UDA) against the choreographer, containing allegations ranging from verbal and physical violence to untenable working conditions and abuse of power. . We could also read in the report that the UDA had said it was “extremely worried”, and indicated that it intended to exercise “increased vigilance” over the productions of Steve Bolton, who has worked on television in shows like Les Gods of Dance and The Voice, as well as hit musicals like Mary Poppins and Footloose.
The 45-year-old choreographer believes that the publication of this article, which he describes as “defamatory”, has damaged his reputation and his career and caused him to lose many contracts.
He is claiming more than $265,000 from The Press and to the two investigative journalists Katia Gagnon and Stéphanie Vallet, the latter now working for The duty.
Why were certain allegations against the choreographer not included in the report?
Because according to the rules that The Press gave herself, there must have been “a large number of cases” before reporting a category of alleged misconduct, explained Katia Gagnon, who continued her testimony Monday at the Montreal courthouse.
However, the journalists had collected only two or three in a specific category, which was “not enough” in their eyes to insert them in the article, she said.
The report therefore focused on allegations of psychological abuse, tantrums and abuse of power, behavior denounced by several people with whom the journalists spoke.
Another testimony did not find its place in the article because the person had not directly witnessed the events reported.
In his lawsuit, Steve Bolton accuses the two investigative journalists of various failings, including having used information “in a misleading way” and without context, in order to write a sensationalist article. The collection of information is biased and partial, he denounces, adding that the journalists did not report in the article certain testimonies in his favor.
Some were effectively excluded, explained Mr.me Gagnon. For example, one woman’s version was discarded because she requested anonymity. According to journalistic rules, reporting someone’s words without saying their name can only be done in certain circumstances, for example, when the person fears reprisals or losing their job – which they did not.
Under cross-examination, Mr. Bolton’s lawyer, Ms.e Marie-Pier Cloutier, tried to point out that anonymity was granted — and their versions incorporated into the article — to more people speaking against Steve Bolton than to those testifying in his favour.
In order to support her argument that the investigation was “botched”, the lawyer also inquired about the steps not taken by the journalists.
Mr. Bolton’s agent testified at trial that he gave them a list of 60 people to call to see another perspective: people who had very positive experiences with the choreographer. According to Mme Gagnon, 15 were contacted.
She also clarified that the article gave an important place to the version of Mr. Bolton: “the third”, she argued. He was met by journalists for 2 hours 20 minutes, in the presence of his lawyer. “He had time to express himself, to explain himself,” said Mme Gagnon.
The trial which began last week continues on Tuesday with the testimony of Stéphanie Vallet, the other journalist who worked on this investigation.