On Saturday 12 January the sports journalist Marie Portolano was received on the set of the cultural show What an era! presented by Léa Salamé and broadcast on France 2. At his side, Michel Drucker, monument of the French audiovisual panorama and vestige of the old world.
Yes, sexism and rape culture “really” exist.
In 2021, the journalist produced a well-known documentary entitled “I’m not a bitch, I’m a journalist!” ». He collected the testimonies of 18 women, describing the anxious and ultra-masculine world of sports journalism. Testimonies reported incidents of sexual harassment and assault, as well as crude jokes and sexist comments that they were forced to endure on a daily basis.
On the set of Léa Salamé, Michel Drucker felt given wings. Taking a paternalistic and suspicious tone, playing on a pseudo collusion between colleagues, he questioned the journalist on the veracity of her experience of him. “Marie… it’s the former sports presenter talking to you… Did you really suffer with your sports friends? Sporty kids? ». Visibly not believing either Marie Portolano or the other eighteen women brave enough to testify, she insists on the implausibility in his eyes that such a situation exists. “They really had inappropriate attitudes, didn’t they? »
“There were still many” replies Marie Portolano, visibly destabilized by the host’s off-screen comment. With a smile, she calmly continues: “It’s not just me who says it, given that in the documentary there are eighteen of us who testify, and I could have come even closer to finding the sisters.”
There was no shortage of indignant reactions on social networks. Journalist Salomé Saqué, for example, protested against this “institutionalized sexism” which allows the presenter to hear himself Self “legitimate in his statement” about which he has no scruples “questioning the words of women in prime time about public service, without worrying, without anyone reacting on set to point out his completely inappropriate attitude.” As if everyone found it normal to question the words of the victims. “If there is a presumption of innocence for accused men, there exists in our political and media culture a presumption of guilt for women who testify”He insisted.
Sports journalists Vanessa Le Moigne and Charlotte Namura also gave their support to their colleague, putting the presenter in her place.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
