PARIS — Olympic ice dance champion Gabriella Papadakis says she lost her commentary role with NBC at the upcoming Winter Olympics because of her former skating partner's response to revelations in her new book.
In an interview with sports daily L’Équipe on Friday, the retired French skater said the decision was taken after Guillaume Cizeron publicly contested what she wrote in “So as Not to Disappear,” released this week.
Cizeron asked his lawyers on Tuesday to formally put all parties involved on notice to cease the " dissemination of defamatory statements" about him.
“To my knowledge, in reaction to Guillaume filing a formal notice, which was made public, they (NBC) considered that the perception of my neutrality was compromised and that I could not commentate on the Olympic Games,” Papadakis told L’Équipe.
“I’m not dealing with it very well, I’ve cried a lot. I was super disappointed because I was just beginning that career as a commentator.”
The 30-year-old Papadakis, who retired in December 2024, said: “To lose the opportunity to start a new career is very difficult to take. I understand NBC’s position but, yes, I’m experiencing a feeling of injustice.”
In her book, Papadakis described suffering in a deeply unbalanced relationship with long-time ice dance partner Cizeron, with whom she broke the world record when claiming gold at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Papadakis wrote that, at a certain point, the idea of finding herself alone with him terrified her. She wrote about him being a “controlling” and “demanding” partner, and expressed a feeling of “being under his grip” at times.
In Friday's interview, she expanded further on their relationship.
“As long as I took a backseat role while Guillaume was the leader, everything went well,” she said. “It's when I wanted to be an equal in this relationship that things started to become more and more difficult.”
They also won an Olympic silver medal, five world championships and five European Championships together, as well as the Grand Prix Final twice.
On Tuesday, Cizeron said Papadakis was spreading lies about him leading up to the Feb. 6-22 Milan Cortina Winter Games.
“In the face of the smear campaign targeting me, I want to express my incomprehension and my disagreement with the labels being attributed to me,” Cizeron said. “These allegations arise at a particularly sensitive time...thereby raising questions about the underlying intentions behind this campaign.
"I also wish to denounce the content of the book, which contains false information attributing to me, among other things, statements I have never made and which I consider serious.”
Cizeron said he had shown “deep respect” for Papadakis and that their working relationship had seen “moments of success and mutual support.”
Papadakis refuted that the book's release was timed to coincide with Cizeron's participation at next month's Olympics.
“I can understand this perception from the outside," Papadakis said. “But the publication date was already planned before the announcement of his return (with his new skating partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry).”
Fournier Beaudry previously competed for Canada. She recently gained French citizenship, clearing the path for the pair to compete together at the Olympics, where they will be among the top contenders.
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