On Saturday, during the Star Academy final, extras appeared with the far-right newspaper Rivarol. The company Endemol France, which produces the TF1 show, apologized this Sunday. The company assures that necessary sanctions will be taken accordingly.
The company Endemol France, which produces Star Academy, apologized on Sunday on the social network “We apologize to viewers, artists and students,” Endemol France wrote on X (ex-Twitter). “We regret and strongly condemn that a propaganda newspaper in complete opposition to the values of the Star Academy appeared in a painting last night during the final.”
I had to go check it because it’s so absurd. And yes, someone #Star Academy last night therefore had the idea of giving the extras a copy (or even several) of the anti-Semitic and racist rag, Rivarol (convicted several times by the courts). https://t.co/bX3F6nGN6cpic.twitter.com/X5bT71QRT7
— Tristan Mendès France (@tristanmf) February 4, 2024
Necessary sanctions will be taken
A video extract from the final was published and denounced on X, in particular by Tristan Mendès-France, specialist in online extremism. We see, alongside a competing singer, two extras each giving a copy of the weekly to two extras, who hold out their arms to read it. The company specified that it was “in the process of investigating to understand how this was put during the broadcast” and assured that “the necessary sanctions will be taken accordingly”.
“Star Academy is a great family program that brings together all audiences around the values of entertainment, kindness and cohesion,” says Endemol. Founded in 1951, the far-right weekly Rivarol is a flagship publication of the French far-right. Its publishing director, Jérôme Bourbon (his real first name is Fabrice), has been convicted around fifteen times, in particular for provoking hatred, contesting crimes against humanity and racist insults. In 2022, the weekly had its approval withdrawn by the Joint Commission for Publications and Press Agencies (CPPAP), which deprived it of the tax advantages and reduced postal rates enjoyed by newspapers.