Adored star for almost 30 years, Véronique Cloutier has always refrained from talking about politics. But by pleading loud and clear for the reimbursement of bio-identical hormones in Loto-Meno, she set foot on this ground considered too radioactive by several public figures. A few months earlier, the host had already gotten wet by taking sides with the Black Lives Matter movement, not without attracting some criticism. Véro, the queen of entertainment, would she be metamorphosing into a committed artist?
” Loto-Meno may have changed the perception that some had of me. Maybe they see me as more serious, more committed. But if I am engaged, it remains on a very small scale. I’m still not Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, ”jokes the main interested party.
The fact remains that the unexpected outcome of the adventure Loto-Meno made her realize all the political influence she could have. Until recently, she was more or less aware of it. Even in the months following the release of the first three episodes of Loto-Meno Last year, when the taboo around menopause became a hot topic, Véronique Cloutier refused to take credit for it. She was not leading the fight, she was only the spokesperson, she liked to repeat humbly.
I don’t like to talk about what I don’t know. To be honest, my political views haven’t become clearer until I’ve been in my 40s. Before, it didn’t interest me and I was embarrassed by it. That’s why I said very little. Today, I assume some of my positions better, but I don’t want to reveal everything. I choose my fights.
“I have to say today that yes [j’ai un poids politique], confides with candor Véronique Cloutier. I say it, but I don’t quite believe it yet. I can’t believe the turn that Loto-Meno took. Even in my wildest dreams, we did not go so far as to make things happen so quickly on the political level. I thought people wouldn’t take me seriously, that people would see me as a simple variety show host who showed up with her glitter. »
Out of his comfort zone
In the epilogue of Loto-Meno, posted this week on the Véro.tv platform, the Minister of Health Christian Dubé launched a bombshell by letting it be known that two types of bio-identical hormones would soon be covered by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec . A huge victory for those who have been demanding for years that these treatments be available to all, starting with Véronique Cloutier, who has no illusions, however, about the electoral calculation behind this announcement.
The host was fully aware of it when she met the Minister of Health in what she describes as one of the most stressful interviews of her life. “I was so nervous before. Interviewing a politician is not like interviewing Marc Messier for his new one man show. The job of a politician is to be skilful, to dodge questions. And we were talking about technical details that I did not master 100%. I’m not a journalist and I’m not a documentary filmmaker”, recognizes with humility Véronique Cloutier, who has the impression of having gone to the end of her register as a host with Loto-Meno.
There is therefore no question of making committed documentaries a niche for the rest of his career. Whether Loto-Meno was born is that the project started from a personal quest. This political influence of which she has just measured the extent, she wants to continue to use it, but with parsimony. Like when she chose not to appear for the first time on the cover of the magazine that bears her name in the summer of 2020, preferring to feature 11 black women in the cover photo, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd.
At 47, it is true that Véronique Cloutier speaks out more often than before on social issues, but she remains hesitant to move forward on more political issues. You will never hear her give her opinion on the third link or on the reform of Law 101. She will never publicly support one political party or another. Véronique Cloutier is not Lise Payette, who has gone from variety show host to minister, then to polemicist.
“I don’t like to talk about what I don’t know. To be honest, my political views haven’t become clearer until I’ve been in my 40s. Before, it didn’t interest me and I was embarrassed by it. That’s why I said very little. Today, I assume some of my positions better, but I don’t want to reveal everything. I choose my fights, ”slices the one who left school after CEGEP to become a VJ at Musique Plus.
Vero 2.0
By her own admission, Véronique Cloutier at the time was incapable of naming party leaders, let alone situating left and right on the political spectrum. Things have changed a lot since then. Political or not, it is clear that his public image has gained credibility as his palette has broadened. Especially since Tou.tv launched the Véro.tv platform in 2016, which enabled it to conduct in-depth interviews with Mirrorand even to reconnect with the game with eye of the storm.
It is also Véro.tv which gave him the opportunity to dabble in documentaries, with Loto-Menobut also with the series Shadow and light, a reflection on fame. A third documentary, which will focus on rumors in the artistic community, is currently in the works.
This risk-taking, Véronique Cloutier owes it above all to her husband, Louis Morissette, without whom she could very well have remained confined to the great varieties after Fury. “I never had a career plan. It was Louis who led me to do the stage, to do Bye Bye, to launch a platform. Without him, my career might have run out of steam, because until very recently, the big variety shows were no longer popular, ”recalls the host, who will celebrate her 30-year career next year.
At the time of crossing this symbolic milestone, she will be at the helm of Zenith, presented as a major intergenerational musical competition that will be broadcast on Radio-Canada in January. A homecoming for the host.