After the Olympic figure skater Gabriella PapadakisThe controversial memos were released earlier this week, NBC is making a change to its broadcast team.
The French ice dancer launched her book, Not to disappearon Thursday, January 17. Soon after, NBC pulled Papadakis from its coverage of the Winter Olympics due to what the network called a “conflict of interest.”
“We respect Gabriella’s right to tell about her life and career. At the same time, her new book creates a clear conflict of interest,” NBC said. sportive in a statement. “Our responsibility is to provide coverage that our audience can trust to be free of bias, whether real or perceived, and we regret that this is no longer possible under the circumstances.”
In the book, Papadakis, 30, describes his former partner, Guillaume Cizeronas “controlling, demanding” and “critical” during their time as partners.
Olympic ice dance gold medalist Guillaume Cizeron is accusing his former partner of engaging in a smear campaign against him by publishing his new memoir. Gabriella Papadakis published her memoirs, Pour ne pas disparaître (To not disappear) on Thursday, January 15. In it, she accuses Cizeron, 31, of being “controlling, demanding, (…)
She added that she eventually refused to skate with him without a coach present and often felt that he was “under her control”.
Papadakis said Agence France-Presse Earlier this week, NBC called her “a few days ago because after my former partner quit and quit, they changed their minds, which makes me very sad.”
She has been working for NBC for the past week, providing ice dance analysis at the US Figure Skating Championships.
Cicero responded to Papadakis’ allegations through a statement to French media on Thursday, in which he called the memoirs a “smear campaign.”
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron
Photo by Pascal GUYOT/AFP via Getty Images“In the face of this defamation campaign, I want to express my incomprehension and disagreement with the labels attributed to me,” he said. “The book contains false information, including statements I never made, which I take seriously. For more than 20 years, I have shown deep respect for Gabriella Papadakis, despite the gradual erosion of our bond, our relationship was built on equal collaboration and marked by mutual success and support.”
Cizeron, 31, added that he has ordered his lawyers to “notify all parties involved to immediately stop spreading defamatory statements about me.”
Papadakis and Cizeron were junior skating partners until their split in 2024. They won Olympic gold in 2022 and won silver in 2018 while skating for Team France. They have also won five gold medals at the World Cup between 2015 and 2022.
Cizeron prepares to skate at the 2026 Winter Games with his new partner, Laurence Fournier Beaudryin the middle of this new controversy.
Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner had a history long before the retired gymnast’s controversial comments about Team USA’s work ethic. “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth isn’t what it used to be. I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work (…)
Ice dancing will begin on Friday, February 6, the same day as the opening ceremony in Milan, Italy.
Papadakis has withdrawn from the competition.
Her memoir also delves into her early life, where she claims she suffered instances of sexual abuse. He also points to the culture around ice dancing, explaining that because it’s designed for the man to lead and the woman to follow, men have the power in the sport.
“I am not suffering because I was sexually abused when I was younger, but because I continue, day after day, to find myself in situations where my body does not belong to me,” she writes. “I am there without really being there, half inhabiting this body that mechanically performs the actions that have been ordered.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).