Host unmasked, mascot ejected

Who are you, the unmasked host? Who are you ?

The latest escapade of Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, who published a controversial video on Friday containing a “gag” with racist connotations, cost him his contract as host of Masked singersa position he had held for three years, according to information relayed by The Montreal Journal (TVA did not respond to me).

The TVA network had however confirmed, at the end of February, that Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge would put on his chic master of ceremonies costume for the fourth season of the most watched show on the Quebec small screen, with its 1.9 million followers. This decision was overturned after popular discontent caused by the ephemeral video of the 48-year-old star host, which contained a not-so-subtle allusion to the expression “work like an N”.

Guest co-host Everybody talks about it Sunday evening, Pierre-Yves Lord was both scathing and elegant in describing this joke as extremely “violent, hurtful and degrading towards Black and Afro-descendant communities”.

Dignified, calm, but firm, Pierre-Yves Lord never mentioned the name of Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, referring instead to a “Quebec personality” who developed this forest scene that was not funny at all.

“I find that it makes no sense, in 2024, to have fun with this word and make jokes about it,” added Pierre-Yves Lord, specifying that this type of comment did not fit into “the Quebec that resembles us”.

Difficult to contradict him on this point; Pierre-Yves Lord aimed at the center of the target. This controversy raged all weekend and enraged several well-known members of the Black community of Quebec, including the host Varda Étienne, the singer Sarahmée as well as the comedians Eddy King and Erich Preach, who atomized the problematic video on the social networks.

This uncomfortable video, filmed by Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge himself, was uploaded Friday afternoon to Instagram and lasts around twenty seconds. On a walk in the woods, the former child actor of the film The Tomcat jokes: “Sometimes, life is also about working. Work hard. There is an expression that sums it up very well, sometimes, and that is to say… I have a big job. A big job,” says the bearded forty-year-old.

Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge then embraces a birch tree (brilliant pun alert!) on which is engraved, in English, the word “starting with an N”. The word is clearly visible on the screen. It doesn’t appear there by accident. And the allusion to the expression “work like an N” seemed rather clear.

Alerted by a friend distraught by the whirlwind of negative reactions, Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge removed the first video and broadcast a second, Saturday morning, where he offers his apologies. “On the heads of my mother, my father, my children, I have never seen these letters. I am really sorry. I would never have made a bad gag like that,” he pleaded, his hair “padded” and his eyes red.

It’s extremely hard to believe that Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, who also works as a television director, did not notice the insult engraved in the bark of the tree, which he taps with his left hand. It was also quite a stroke of luck that the host came across the only birch tree in the entire forest that had a trash word on its trunk. Quick, I’ll get you a 6/49!

In order to curb the growing media crisis, Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge directly contacted the host Guy A. Lepage to invite himself, at the last minute, to the set of Everybody talks about itwhich he was refused, according to my information.

“In light of his very poor taste video and with a justification that makes no sense, we didn’t see why offer him this platform. Pierre-Yves Lord explained his vision of things in the introduction and we completely share his position,” indicates the co-producer of Everybody talks about itGuillaume Lspérance.

The worst part is that for two and a half years, TVA has been very conciliatory and tolerant towards the erratic actions of Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, particularly during the disputes over the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, this host is far from being essential to the success of a canon production like Masked singerswhich could be animated by an orange cone (is that you, Mathieu Dufour?) and the public would see nothing but fire.

Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge had been warned to keep quiet and keep a low profile after his strange scandal at the Gémeaux in September 2022, where he interrupted the gala to settle scores with Louis Morissette and Guy A. Lepage. On the stage of the Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts, his speech was disjointed, confused and incomprehensible. Big discomfort in the room.

The rubber band of TVA’s patience finally burst, it was a question of time. How could a network endorse bizarre behavior and inappropriate jokes from one of its brightest stars? It became indefensible, like the daily broadcast on the same channel.

For the moment, the next edition of If we still loved each other, which Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge comments on with his partner Émily Bégin, would remain in TVA’s spring schedule, Mondays at 7 p.m., starting April 29. No news, however, of the regular version of If we loved each otherwhich was scheduled for September.

Neither TVA nor Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge responded to my interview requests on Monday. Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge does not have an agent or press relations person who takes care of his career. It could be a wise investment for the future: surrounding yourself with professionals who can prevent another public relations fiasco.

Personally, if I were Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, I would hide in a giant mascot, crossing my fingers so as not to be unmasked before 2047.