“Stairs feel good”: YouTuber Jimmy Labeeu apologizes after a sketch trivializing domestic violence

A sketch that doesn’t work. Belgian comedian and YouTuber Jimmy Labeeu apologized this Thursday after the broadcast of a video on social networks where he trivialized domestic violence.

“The World Cup is coming, the Tour de France, and sports betting galore. Spend all your savings account, argue with your wife, be a little violent with her… The stairs, hop thirty steps, it’s good for everyone,” declared the comedian in a video now deleted, but republished by BFM TV, miming a kick in the direction of his supposed victim.

The videographer, followed by 2 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.3 million accounts on Instagram, was quickly singled out by another comedian and actress, Elsa Cazeilles.

“This humor trivializes violence”

“I was the victim of domestic violence and thrown – exactly as you mime it – down a staircase fifteen years ago by a “man”. You know Jimmy, my attacker must be laughing at your video since this humor trivializes his violence,” she wrote in a publication reported by the Huffington Post, published this Wednesday and since deleted.

“Every day, women are pushed, hit, stabbed, cut, raped, burned, drowned, beaten, drugged… Are you going to mime all that for us too? », continues the actress, pointing out the responsibility of her colleague, who has a “huge community”.

In response to the publication, which sparked a significant wave of comments of support, Jimmy Labeeu apologized, ensuring that he had wanted to use “black humor”.

Jimmy Labeeu says he was “clumsy”

“Some subjects don’t make everyone laugh,” he explained. “I was raised to respect others, and it seems inconceivable to me to condone or reproduce this type of behavior. »

“So, awkwardly, I don’t spontaneously think about the fact that some might take it at face value or that others would reproduce this kind of atrocity. This was a mistake on my part, and I must learn from it. I will be much more attentive before publishing,” he defends himself again in the comment, which became inaccessible this Friday.

Videographer Jimmy Labeeu became known for his humorous content in the 2010s on Vine, before gaining millions of subscribers on YouTube. Seen in the films “Le Correspondant” (2016) and “Tamara” (2016, 2018), he also co-hosted the talk show “Le QG” from 2019 to 2022 with presenter Guillaume Pley, also on YouTube.