The popular gossip site Qc Scoop, at the heart of a controversy for having distributed private and disputed information about an influencer, lost numerous business partners on Tuesday and sparked outrage in the entertainment industry. After being dropped by its agency, the platform which presents itself as “your Quebec gossip girl” has also just lost its service provider, we have learned The Press.
Result: the site should no longer be accessible, at least in its current form, during the day.
Last Monday, Qc Scoop suffered a round of criticism after relaying on its website and in social networks a rumor, supported by a photo, according to which the artist and influencer Rafaëlle Roy was in the hospital “under police surveillance “.
“She couldn’t go to the toilet without the police following her,” indicated an anonymous source in the article – since deleted – suggesting that the former candidate of The voice was intoxicated and under police control. It should be noted that the site had extensively reported, at the end of September, accusations of impaired driving against Rafaëlle Roy.
“I went to the hospital accompanied by police officers because I asked for help, because I have suffered in silence for too long,” the influencer later corrected on Instagram, specifying that she was “totally with an empty stomach “.
After removing the contentious publication, Qc Scoop apologized to Rafaëlle Roy and those around her on social networks. “The line between what deserves to be put online or not is sometimes very thin, but this time it was too much,” admitted the platform. “We are not perfect, and this is proof. »
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IMAGE TAKEN FROM A SCREENSHOT, THE PRESS
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IMAGE TAKEN FROM A SCREENSHOT, THE PRESS
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Too little too late: some saw in the publication of Qc Scoop a lack of consideration and contempt for private life. “How many damaged lives, how many broken families it will take”, for example reacted the host Véronique Cloutier on social networks.
During the day on Monday, singer-songwriter Guillaume Fuso launched the online petition “So that QCSCOOP closes for good”; it collected nearly 10,000 signatures at the time of publication. “QCSCOOP has done enough damage in the lives of people in which they interfere without any scruple,” writes the author of the missive, who shared his life with Rafaëlle Roy.
“We must collectively rise above this culture of emptiness, cancellation and hatred that this fallacious page propagates.” Qc Scoop gained popularity in 2022 after spreading news about influencers getting into mischief during a trip to Tulum during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The gossip site’s founder, Simon Waddell, rakes in thousands of dollars in advertising revenue every week through his platforms.
Too much controversy
The company H&L Media, which hosted Qc Scoop and ensured its monetization, no longer wants to be associated with the gossip site founded by Simon Waddell in 2022. In a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, it announced its decision to put an end to to its business relationship with the page and to close the site.
This is not the first time that the sports and entertainment news broadcasting network has had trouble with Qc Scoop, explains Marc Ouimet, one of the owners of H&L Média, on the phone. This time, it’s too much controversy. “We manage the content of 99% of our sites,” he explains. Qc Scoop, it was the exception and it still falls on us. »
Earlier in the day, the Haute Influence agency also announced in a press release that it had cut ties with the Qc Scoop site. The company “has always advocated high ethical standards in its partnerships and collaborations. We strongly believe in the importance of working with individuals and organizations who share our principles and vision. Unfortunately, recent developments do not match this philosophy. »
Neither Simon Waddell nor Qc Scoop had responded to our interview requests at the time of publication.