End of suspense. Slimane will be present this Friday, November 1, on the stage of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), on the occasion of the 26th NRJ Music Awards ceremony, broadcast live on TF 1 and NRJ. The artist arrived in the city this Thursday afternoon, after plane delays and must then rehearse his performance on the song “Mon amour”, which allowed France to secure a fourth place in the ‘Eurovision in May.
If his participation had been announced for several weeks, it has been called into question in recent hours, after the revelation by Le Parisien of a complaint from a former technician from his tour accusing the singer of sexual harassment during an evening after a concert, in December 2023.
So, over the last 72 hours, everything has been put on the table: do nothing, record his performance in advance, cancel his appearance or even withdraw his two nominations, in the “French-speaking male artist” and “French-speaking song” categories. . An unprecedented situation for the organizers, who have increased the number of telephone meetings since our publication in order to find the best solution regarding the participation of the 35-year-old singer in the big awards evening, from which he has already emerged victorious at eight repeated since his first appointment in 2016.
“The idea is not to touch anything,” someone close to the negotiations told us Wednesday evening. He remains presumed innocent, so we don’t have to judge him. Now, if he decides not to come for one reason or another, that’s his choice and we will respect it. We know how to adapt, we have seen others…”