“I don’t do the programming for the Telethon,” declared the singer Santa in the “Culture Médias” show on Europe 1, this Wednesday, November 26. For several days, the artist was at the heart of a controversy launched by Cyril Hanouna on the set of “Tout beau tout n9uf”. This Monday on W9, the host accused Santa, godmother of Telethon 2025, of having demanded that Vitaa and Slimane be excluded from the event, broadcast live on France Télévisions on December 5 and 6.
The singer would have been motivated by the “jealousy” that she harbored towards Vitaa “because she won many prizes against her”, affirmed the host. As for Slimane, “she said that she [le] did not want (…), while [lui]his matter has been settled,” added Cyril Hanouna. Accused of moral harassment, Slimane was fined 10,000 euros, including 3,000 euros suspended this year. The singer was also the subject of a second complaint dismissed for sexual assault and attempt.
“We put things straight”
At the microphone of Europe 1, Santa said she was “hurt” by Cyril Hanouna’s comments. “I didn’t understand anything about what happened to me. I received hundreds of messages, insults, I was dragged through the mud after lies. Sharing a post that invites hatred, that is slanderous, hurts me deeply because my approach is total, pure, sincere,” she said to Thomas Isle.
The young woman assured that she contacted Vitaa to discuss the accusations against her: “We made things very clear, flat, there is no problem, there is no subject. (…) When (…) I called France Télévisions, everyone was amazed,” she added.
France Télévisions supports Santa
The public audiovisual group, for its part, published a press release in which it denies the rumors about the godmother of Telethon 2025. “As every year, the editorial, artistic and technical choices of the Téléthon programming are assumed solely by the producers of France Télévisions. Santa, the godmother of Telethon 2025, like her predecessors, was in no way a decision-maker in the choice of guest artists,” reported France Télévisions, which praises the “benevolence, (the) kindness and (the) simplicity” of the thirty-year-old, “both with the families and with the organizing teams”.
“France Télévisions strongly condemns the fact that Santa, an artist committed to such an essential cause, is today attacked on the basis of false allegations,” the press release concludes.
If neither Vitaa nor Slimane reacted publicly, Saïd Boussif, their manager, reacted on Instagram this Tuesday and seemed to agree with Cyril Hanouna: “An artist can now decide who has the right to serve a cause. Interesting. We have reached a milestone. An action dedicated to sick children diverted to fix egos. It took nerve. (…) That a whim can weigh more heavily than such an essential mission is already appalling. But that some swallow it without flinching is even more revealing,” he said.