Sunday February 28, 2021, the singer Louane was invited to the program Clique. She confided in the harassment suffered by female artists and the toxic environment in which they operate.
Revealed in 2013 by the show The Voice on TF1, singer Louane started her career very young. Only 16 years old at the time, she had to contend with the sexist environment that many female artists are subjected to in the music industry. In the show Click, presented by Mouloud Achour, the singer, now 24, has decided to break the silence on the harassment and manipulation of which she has been the victim: "From my 15 to 17 years of age, I was manipulated, morally and sexually harassed, without realizing it at that time of course. I was the object of someone, shaped according to their psychological fantasies and deviations." She also returned to the statements of the singer Apple to Mediapart a few weeks ago : "Apple is already a friend. We have known each other for years now, we are quite close. I agree with her entirely on her speech. It's funny because we talked about it with my team before coming. saying 'honestly, who in this room can raise their hand and say, in this environment, i haven't experienced harassment?' No one. There were five of us. It's nothing… and it's huge at the same time. "
I have been manipulated, morally and sexually harassed
In addition to this gender-based violence, Louane has lifted the veil on how female artists compete in the music industry. She thus denounces this domination exercised by men in the world of music: "In everything she says, in her truth, which is not far from mine, there is something that she does not say, which is that in addition to that, this environment tends to us go up against each other. And that is quite difficult to live with. Above all, it is ridiculous because this competition, we realize the minute we meet and talk to each other that it no longer exists. (…) I'm a pretty measured person so I think it gave me some amazing things. VShas made me sad to death at times. "
To see also: #MusicToo: singer Apple denounces moral and sexual harassment
Towards a #MeToo for the music industry in France
Languages seem to be loosening little by little in the music industry. Apple's statements to Mediapart, on February 11, 2021, made it possible to break a still stubborn taboo in the community. Other female artists, such as Yseult or Camelia Jordana, have also expressed themselves on the subject. And it is Cœur de Pirate, aka Béatrice Martin, who was one of the first to speak out about the gender-based violence she has suffered since the start of her career, not only from the music industry but also within medias.
In July 2020, the Quebec singer left her label Dare to care after the revelations concerning the singer Bernard Adamu. The latter was accused of harassment and sexual assault. For Cœur de Pirate, it was out of the question to pretend nothing had happened. That's why she ended her collaboration with the label Dare to care, according to her, in the sexist violence of one of her artists.
To see also: Camelia Jordana, Yseult, Pomme … Let's stop asking feminist and anti-racist artists to justify themselves
These words are more and more numerous and apply in the tradition of MeTooMusic, an anonymous collective fighting against gender-based and sexual violence in the music industry. A #MeToo of music would it finally be in motion to support all the professionals in the field who are victims of harassment and violence? The struggle has only just begun.