After the interruption of Seb Melia’s show in Brussels, is the MeToo of humor taking off?

“Rapist, we see you, victim, we believe you,” chanted several activists in the darkness of Brussels’ Circus Royal on Saturday, January 13. That evening, French stand-up comedian Seb Melia presented his show “Seb Melia Never Loses” to an audience of about 3,500. “A known rapist, a rapist all the same,” protestors led by Florence Mendez continued to disrupt the show. This 36-year-old Belgian comedian accused his partner of sexual harassment and rape against at least 14 women, whose testimonies he allegedly collected on social networks. A few days before his attack, he wrote on his Instagram page: “I don’t want to be silent for another second, the safety of women in the comedy industry is at stake.” In a video of the intervention, captured by the cameras of the news channel BX1, formerly Télé Bruxelles, which reported on the ground that night, Seb Melia then tries to justify himself. “This is not the place where I could explain myself,” he says alone on stage, facing the darkness.

Current exam

Mellia’s case began publicly on January 10, when Florence Mendez shared the four women’s stories with her nearly 69,000 followers in a post that has since been deleted. The latter all accuse the comedian with 165 thousand followers of serious aggression. “One talks about a consensual but violent relationship. Another described being pinned against a wall and forcefully kissed. The last two tell about forced sex, including sodomy, in connection with the removal of a condom without their consent,” we can read. The day after this message, he made other revelations. he reportedly collected about ten additional testimonies that he did not broadcast. Consequently, on January 13, Florence Mendez and other feminist activists went to Brussels to directly challenge Seb Melia. “Tonight we took things one step further. A small step, maybe, but a step. THANK YOU. To the wonderful people in front of the room, to the wonderful people who have walked or left the show, to the brave activists who took this brilliant step,” she wrote on social media before handing over to Colleen Clavo-Megewand. freelance journalist, as well as the podcast Behind the curtain, whose goal is to achieve free speech in the entertainment industry, asking them to gather testimonies. On page one, heavily invested in issues of feminism and LGBTQI+ rights, we then find a call for witnesses called the #MeToo Stand-up.

Will we witness a new protest? After film, music, media, agriculture and even start-ups, a new sector is being affected: the humor sector. We also saw the beginning of this with the accusations against Ari Abitan in October 2021. The case made a big noise because the facts seemed serious. The victim, a 23-year-old woman, accused the comedian of sodomy rape, specifically “strangulation, slaps and degrading remarks”, with injuries to her “vagina and anus” that left her in pain for two days. After appearing under judicial supervision and then as a supporting witness, the comedian was finally released last July due to the lack of evidence.

Influence relationship

On another note, but still among comedians, YouTuber “Norman Makes Videos” has also recently been singled out for sexist and sexual harassment. The young father at the height of his fame, known for his humorous comments on YouTube and then on Instagram, a platform where he still has 5.8 million followers, was the subject of an incriminating video on December 7, 2022, made by is another YouTuber Le Roi des Rats. In this sequence, a man interviews the alleged victims of Norman Tavo, his real name. “He liked the fact that I look young, I don’t look my age, I didn’t look like an adult,” explains one of them, who has remained anonymous. And another. He started to put it all over my head, I was disgusted. He also made a lot of dirty comments that I can’t repeat after six years.”

The first to raise the alarm against the comedian, whose only stage show, Le Spectacle de la Maturité, was available on Prime Video at the time, was Maggie D, one of her Quebec fans. The young girl described a controlled relationship when she was just 16, saying she was manipulated into receiving sexual photos and videos. The hashtag #BalancetonYouTubeur then hit the internet at the same time. Because Norman Tavo, his real name, wasn’t the only YouTuber accused of using his position to curry favor. Back in 2018, while social networks were abuzz with #Balancetonporc, the #1 French YouTube game hashtag, Squeezie tweeted to condemn the inappropriate behavior of some of his peers. “YouTubers (including those who shout from the rooftops that they are feminists) who take advantage of the psychological vulnerability of young subscribers to get sex, we see you, the truth always comes out,” she wrote at the time. A widely shared post with some comments already directed at Norman. It should be noted that the investigation started in 2023 regarding the latter for rape and corruption of minors was closed without further actions last October.

If at the moment the cases revealed are still rare, however, it seems that the word is being released again by women. Other countries are not immune to this new Me Too. The tide began to turn last September, across the Atlantic, with allegations of sexual harassment against comedian Russell Brand. Katy Perry’s ex was actually the target of a group investigation Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4 for rape, sexual assault and psychological abuse by four women between 2006 and 2013. “Predator,” they said in unison.