https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i04WiOTZEmQ
A French journalist has been harshly criticized after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on live TV.
In the game show “35 Hours of Baba,” which ran its longest episode in TPMP channel last week, a segment had the hosts and guests re-enacting Kim Kardashian-West’s recent jewelry heist in Paris.
In the segment, host Cyril Hanouna facilitated the role playing wherein West was being liberated from her thieves. Soraya, a 21-year old dancer, played Kardashian while journalist and game show panelist Jean-Michel Maire pretended he was saving her from the robbers, Metro UK reported.
When Soraya was finally freed, Hanouna urged Soraya to let Maire smooch her in return for her safety. She refused, but Maire exclaimed, “She said yes!”
Hanouna then asked Soraya why she rejected Maire’s offer to kiss her, and she said that many viewers were watching. Maire, 54, then jokingly suggested that they “can do it backstage.” Later, he leaned for a non-consented kiss, but Soraya quickly evaded it. Instead of kissing her lips, Maire planted his lips on her right breast.
Minutes after the incident was aired, hundreds of social media users including French women’s rights and family minister Laurence Rossignol “smacked” Maire and the game show with protests.
In an interview with L’ Express, Soraya admitted that she was shocked with his inappropriate kiss saying, “I’m a human being, not just an object.”
The country’s broadcasting board, Conseil Supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA), said it had received 250 complaints about the incident and that it was conducting an investigation. On the other hand, Maire tweeted an “apology,” and dismissed the “not so serious” allegations. Gianna Francesca Catolico
Le CSA a reçu + de 250 signalements concernant l'émission "Les 35 heures de Baba". Le dossier va être instruit prochainement.
— Arcom (@Arcom_fr) October 14, 2016
Sorry, c'est le bras du singe 😳#35heuresDeBaba #tpmp #jemedisaisaussiilalespoilstresroux
— Jean-Michel Maire (@jmmaireofficiel) October 14, 2016