Advertisement

Is Cyril Hanouna the most unpleasant person on French television?

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Is Cyril Hanouna the most unpleasant person on French television?
Photo: AFP

French TV presenter Cyril Hanouna's name has been causing a splash with the French and foreign press since Thursday, after a TV prank in which he targeted gay men live on air became just the latest in a series of scandals associated with the host.

Advertisement

Presenter of the hugely popular show, Touche pas à mon poste -- which airs at primetime Monday to Friday on channel C8, Hanouna's name has become synonymous with behaving badly on air.
 
Here's a look at some of top scandals involving Hanouna and his hit show:
 
1. Bullying disabled people
 
One of the presenter's first big scandals to cause the state broadcasting authority in France (CSA) a headache was during the 2015 Eurovision song contest.
 
After watching a clip of one of competing entries -- a group made up of members suffering from autism and down's syndrome -- one of Hanouna's guests responded, "We're going to screw the Down's Syndrome people."
 
 
2. Repeated homophobia
 
The current scandal is not the first case of homophobia on the show. In December, the French association of LGBT journalists (AJL) claimed that Hanouna was “obsessed with homosexuality”.
 
The presenter and panelists on the show brought up the subject of homosexuality 42 times across 20 shows in November, “often to laugh about it in a disparaging manner”, the group said.
 
3. The "breast-kissing scandal"
 
In October 2016, Hanouna's name was all over the media when one of his guests kissed a woman's breasts live on the air.
 
During the live broadcast of a special 35-hour long version of his show, the TV host encouraged one of his guests, journalist Jean-Michel Maire, to kiss a female guest on the cheek.
 
She refused, turning her head away, so instead Maire plants a kiss on her breasts.
 
Naturally the programme was condemned by many, including women's rights organisations, but the woman in question defended Maire's actions.
 
 
4. Humiliating routines
 
Many viewers complained about the humiliation and indignity of a skit inspired by the "Wheel of Fortune".
 
Entitled "Roux de la Fortune" (playing on the similarity between the French words for "wheel" and "red-head"), the skit involved a young man being spun around and offering gifts to guests.
 
5. Handsy behaviour
 
Hanouna was filmed navigating the hands of Capucine Anav over his body in a slot on another TV show.
 
In the film he was seen putting her hands on different parts of his body while she was blindfolded. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hanouna didn't balk from placing her hands on intimate areas of his body.
 
Anav expressed her lack of surprise over this in the show.
 
Homophobic prank lands TV presenter in hot water
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also