A French ex rugby star is facing a sexism storm after lifting up the miniskirt of an influencer as she danced on a table top during a festival.
In footage shared on social media, Charline Pradeau can be seen dancing in a bar in Dax during Feria de Dax – a festival celebrating bullfighting, folk music and sporting events.
As she poses for the camera on August 17, the former French national team player, Richard Dourthe, can be seen sitting behind her before turning around and lifting the back of her white miniskirt.
Holding a drink in one hand, she swats his hand away and taps him on the back of the head before turning to face the camera with a stunned expression on her face.
She then moves down the table to an area away from Dourthe and continues to dance on camera.
But following the incident, on August 20, Pradeau filed a complaint against the former rugby star for sexual insult.
‘It’s very hard emotionally, because after years of not daring, and being ashamed of the abuse I experienced. What is happening is extremely serious. It is time to denounce, shame must change sides,’ Pradeau said in a video a few hours after posting the footage of the incident.
However, the 1999 World Cup finalist with Les Bleus has decided to take legal action for ‘slanderous denunciation,’ complaining that he is the target of a ‘media campaign,’ reports Le Parisien.
In footage shared on social media, Charline Pradeau can be seen dancing in a bar in Dax during Feria de Dax – a festival celebrating bullfighting, folk music and sporting events
As she poses for the camera on August 17, the former French national team player, Richard Dourthe, can be seen sitting behind her before turning around and lifting the back of her white miniskirt
Following the incident, on August 20, Charlene Pradeau filed a complaint against the former rugby star for sexual insult
Richard Dourthe has responded by filing a complaint of his own for sexist outrage
In her initial video response, Pardeau said ‘the person who committed this act [has] contacted her to apologise.
‘But that doesn’t change the facts, if it hadn’t come out, he certainly would never have been sorry, he was never sorry at the time and I made the choice not to respond to his message,’ she concluded.
The video response posted by Pradeau has since been deleted.
‘Instagram blocked me for sexual content, so I can’t respond, but thank you,’ Pradeau wrote in an Instagram story post on August 19.
The woman claims that since speaking out, she has been subjected to harassment on social media and that she is starting to ‘have social anxiety.’
‘I am unfortunately obliged to speak out one last time on this subject. The harassment, the threats, the lynching, the insults’ must stop.
‘Please be aware that criminal proceedings will be initiated against you, the harassers who think they can do whatever they want behind a screen, and against the people concerned,’ she said.
On Wednesday, Dourthe’s lawyer, Arnaud Dupin, responded saying: ‘As regrettable as it may be, Mr. Richard Dourthe recognises that he had no business touching the skirt of a girl dancing on a counter at the Fêtes de Dax, and he immediately apologised to the young girl concerned.
‘The fact remains that this attitude in no way justifies distorting the factual reality and creating a buzz.
The 1999 World Cup finalist with Les Bleus has decided to take legal action for ‘slanderous denunciation,’ complaining that he is the target of a ‘media campaign,’ reports Le Parisien
Pardeau claims that since speaking out, she has been subjected to harassment on social media and that she is starting to ‘have social anxiety’
‘The fact remains that the gesture attributed to Mr. Richard Dourthe is in no way sexist and cannot constitute an attack, which the criminal investigation will demonstrate.
‘On the other hand, unfounded, repeated and widely disseminated accusations with a real intention to harm fall under criminal law and constitute the offense of malicious denunciation.
‘As he made known last week, he remains at the disposal of the courts and the police to provide all necessary explanations’.
The Dax prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the matter.
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