Since its denunciation in an article in Duty in July 2020, in the midst of the #MeToo wave, Julien Lacroix followed an intensive therapeutic process: “I feel that I did the right things”, he said in an exclusive interview. The duty therefore wanted to put in context the path of the young comedian and his public release by consulting two independent experts and, with his authorization, three people who supported him in his approach and who agreed to speak to us on condition that we preserve their anonymity.
“Julien Lacroix is the representative of an archetype of young white men who are”fucked up“And who do things”fucked up”, And who will continue to do so. So we have to try to understand what is going on. And if we do not shed light on this, we will continue to write articles every year where there is someone who behaves unacceptable, deviant, toxic, aggressive, abusive, ”explains a worker in drug addiction. a rehabilitation service which supported Julien Lacroix in his approach.
Julien Lacroix participated in closed therapy at Maison Jean Lapointe where he was supervised by another counselor-therapist. “We went to dig deep into the reasons that led him to use and also to find good reasons to stop using and think about the triggers for relapse,” he says.
The three companions of the comedian emphasize that he is very invested in his recovery process and that he has remained sober. “Just not consuming for a year is a great achievement. Julien was lucky and unlucky to have had a nasty slap in the face, so it really motivated him to stay upright, but the majority of people relapse, it’s very difficult to get out of it, ”says the rehabilitation worker.
Her sexual behavior was discussed, but they were not at the center of her therapy, says her therapist at Maison Jean Lapointe. “He was there to stop using, not for me to accompany him in becoming aware of what he was accused of. […] But of course we talked about it together. 15% of the problem is consumption, but 85% is your behavior. Julien Lacroix confirms that he has not followed therapy specifically for his sexual behavior until now.
Line Bernier, psychologist, who has worked with sexual offenders, listened to Julien Lacroix’s interview at the request of the Duty. “His approach is serious, but it is not complete,” she believes. He seems to have made a good approach to his drug addiction, but there is one part missing that he does not address, and that is that of his approach to his sexual behaviors. And she adds, “He says that in 95% of the situations alcohol was involved. But if the problem was alcohol, it would be taken off the shelves and there would be no more sexual assaults. “
Acknowledge one’s actions
From the outset, Julien Lacroix warns that he will “not comment on the allegations”, because he intends to “settle this in private with the people concerned”. During the interview, he never uses the vocabulary of his whistleblowers, who accused him of sexual assault, rape, forced fellatio and unwanted kissing. He told us that he took this decision, not to protect himself legally, but to avoid “reviving things” to women.
Olivier Turbide, specialist in public communication and image and professor at UQAM, who is currently leading the study When the offenders repent, also listened to the interview at the request of the Duty. Julien Lacroix chooses an attenuated vocabulary, according to Mr. Turbide. He talks about his “lack of empathy” and being “disturbing”. The only time he opens up about the actions that have been reproached to him, he minimizes their seriousness, he analyzes. Julien Lacroix affirms this in an interview: “For a long time I wondered how relevant it was for this to be public, this affair, because it is not in workplaces, it is parties in high school, arrogance in bars, worse a toxic six-year relationship. “
“In terms of euphemism, we can’t do much better,” Judge Turbide.
Mme Bernier makes the same observation and reminds the victims of the importance of using explicit terms. “What I feel about him is the desire not to be forced into hiding anymore, to be the outcast. Now, how do we get out of this? In repairing, and in order to repair, we must be aware of the consequences of the actions we take and name them, ”she states.
Mme Bernier and Mr. Turbide both assess that, in this interview, Julien Lacroix makes little room for the suffering he may have caused the women who denounced him. “This is what the victims are waiting for, an acknowledgment of the harm it has done to them,” says Mme Bernier. What I felt is that he wants to be forgiven, us, the public […] that we accept him again among us, but I found that he showed very little sensitivity for the victims. “
Accountability
The issue of accountability was raised several times during the interview. “Taking responsibility is accepting to see yourself as the ‘bad guy’, and that’s difficult,” explains Mme Bernier. There, we cannot assess whether he is aware of the damage he has done because he says “yes I am aware”, but he did not tell us what the damage is. “
Professor Turbide is of the opinion that the artist’s approach is “bordering on selfish”. “It’s not so much to apologize or to give back power to the other, or to testify to the way in which he behaved badly. What comes up regularly in his speech is that he wants to “walk with his head held high” and that his experience “be useful”. “But repentance, according to Mr. Turbide, aims to restore” a balance in the power relationship between the aggressor and the victimized, so that this power relationship turns to the advantage of the victims, whether it is the victim who is valued ”.
The impact of its public release
In his interview, Julien Lacroix clearly announces that he wants to come back on stage. His three therapeutic guides have all said that they have discussed with him his return to professional life and that it is part of a recovery journey, to keep a purpose and stay on the right path.
The psychologist Line Bernier, specialist in mediation, takes the point of view of the women who denounced him: “What we hear is that he has been humiliated, that he is ashamed, that he would like it would be freed from the weight he is carrying. There is nothing in there for the victims. I am a little harsh. “
While Julien Lacroix explains that it is part of the therapy to speak to the “I” so as not to take the place of the victims, Professor Turbide, who is carrying out a study on the rehabilitation process of public figures, is sharp: “In terms of speech […] what we remember is that it occupies all the space. There is a takeover of power, a control of the narrative, so it somehow reproduces a certain form of more symbolic violence in this way of always speaking to the “I”. […] This has the effect of leaving a little in the air everything that the victims may experience, and therefore the consequences of his violent behavior there. “
His rehabilitation therapist fears the impact of the media coverage of his approach. “His path cannot be perfect. We’ve got somebody that’s hurt, that’s trying to heal, that’s hurt other people, and they too are trying to heal. So how do we heal all these beautiful people there? It’s going to be a big boom again, so how can we cause a boom, but with a shift towards the positive. “