A terrible defamation: Flavie Flament slams Patrick Bruels defense

She had already faced the accusation reversal when she denounced photographer David Hamilton; now Flavie Flament is once again in the spotlight in the case of Patrick Bruel. Flavie Flament revisited the reactions to her accusation against the singer, whom she accuses of raping her when she was 16, during an interview with RTL on Friday, May 22.

Confronted by Thomas Sotto, the host criticized Patrick Bruel’s defense, whose lawyers notably mentioned “an episodic and consensual relationship.” Flavie Flament, who was already shocked by these statements, criticized them once again on RTL. “Can you imagine, for a minor victim, being told that she was consenting to the harm done to her? To the trauma she endured, that crushed and devastated her adolescence?”

“This defamation is absolutely horrendous,” the host emphasized. She then added, “I never had consensual sexual relations with Patrick Bruel; I saw him once when I was 16, in that apartment [where she claims the rape occurred], and I only saw him again in my television shows afterward.”

During her interview, Flavie Flament also called out the “variability of the facts” presented by Bruel’s camp. “For a week, the defamation has varied,” she stated. “They talk about an episodic relationship, which then becomes a relationship over years, they say we crossed paths on vacation, and then later they claim we spent our holidays together for years.”

“All these versions of the story only reveal a fragility,” the host asserted. “When you hold the truth […] you never change your version and you never engage in escalation.” When asked if she will also file a defamation lawsuit, Flavie Flament stated that she is “studying with her lawyers the possibility of taking legal action.”

Throughout the interview, she described the attacks against her as symptomatic of how victims of sexual violence are treated. “This is an illustration of what happens in all families and institutions when a victim files a complaint,” the host explained, “they do everything to silence her and discredit her.”

Flavie Flament also responded to an article in Le Parisien last Sunday, where people described as some of her “close ones” voiced support for Patrick Bruel. One man who claimed to have “worked with her for a long time” stated that he was “shocked” to hear about the rape accusation against the singer.

“What she is saying today is the exact opposite of what she was telling a few years ago about her relationship with Patrick Bruel,” the man assured Le Parisien. “She spoke of it as a lovely adventure, those were her words,” he continued, adding, “There was never any mention of coercion in her statements, and if I have to testify in court, I will.”

“I don’t have much to say back,” Flavie Flament reacted on Friday. “When you bleed, sometimes the pack is there,” she continued. “I can tell you one thing: my loved ones, the people at my side, are not the kind to speak anonymously. I voice this publicly, and my loved ones have the same courage as I do.”

Referring to the “lies” and “defamation” from these “two people who claim to be [her] close ones,” the host also declared that the matter “will be settled in court” where “they will have to answer for their claims.”