The artist Franck Sylvestre is suing for damage to his reputation: He considers the statements about himself and his show “The Incredible Secret of Blackbeard,” which featured a black puppet that his critics associate with “blackface,” to be defamatory.
This court case examines the concepts of freedom of expression and protection of reputation.
Mr. Sylvestre continues with Alain Babineau, one of the speakers of the Coalition rouge organization, whose mission is to eliminate the practice of racial profiling and systemic racism in Canada. He accuses Mr. Babineau of damaging his reputation.
Franck Sylvestre, a multidisciplinary Quebec artist of Martinian descent, created a children's puppet show, The Incredible Secret of Blackbeard, which was performed on stage for several years.
The black doll that started this whole affair represents “a Martinian magician” and is said to be a caricature of the artist.
This exhibition was selected by the Conseil des Arts de Montréal for presentation in the Montreal region in 2023. The artist had contracts with the cities of Pointe-Claire and Beaconsfield.
However, a citizen complained before her lecture and called for the show to be canceled – the affair then became public.
On February 24, 2023, two activist organizations, the West Island Black Community Association and the Coalition Rouge, organized a press conference where they accused the city of Pointe-Claire of allowing the show to be presented and called for its cancellation. he claimed in the lawsuit scheduled to be filed Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse.
“During this press conference, the defendant [Alain Babineau] makes aggressive, vindictive, emotional, malicious, harassing and defamatory statements against the complainant, in particular by comparing him with a “racist doll”, with black people supporting the ideas of white supremacists, with systemic racism and in particular with the dehumanization of black people in With the claim that he is only contributing to this dehumanization and participating in the practice of “blackface,” audio recordings are cited to support this.
On the same day, Mr. Babineau allegedly posted four tweets on his Twitter account in which he claimed that the plaintiff was one of the “sold people who only think about their own happiness so as not to displease their master” and claimed that his show was “ “The tear of systemic discrimination” and sarcastically adds that he is “a good black man” and thus suggests that he is in the service of white people, we can read in the proceedings.
Then the city of Beaconsfield canceled the show's presentation, as did the Montreal Youth Literature Festival, says Mr. Sylvestre.
He accuses Mr. Babineau of making defamatory statements with the intent to harm him. He claims he hasn't seen the show and doesn't even know what the puppet represents – but he still associates it with “blackface,” he complains.
“He inappropriately associated Plaintiff and his puppet with racism, the subjugation of Black people to White people, and even white supremacy and the dehumanization of Black people, thereby attacking Plaintiff's reputation and attempting to instill hatred and contempt for him public in general and its members.” particularly the black community. »
Last September, Mr. Babineau was ordered to issue a retraction press release and to refrain from any comments damaging to Mr. Sylvestre. He refused, they say.
Mr Sylvestre is seeking around $26,000 in damages because his professional life has been “seriously affected”. » He specifically calls for the award of punitive damages for what he calls a “bad faith smear campaign” that Mr. Babineau waged “for purely ideological reasons.” »
“With this appeal I lay my burden at the feet of justice. And with confidence I ask him to speak out so that my fundamental rights are respected. That I can return to work with peace of mind and protected mental freedom,” says Mr. Sylvestre. He is supported in this by the organizations Droitscollectives Québec (DCQ) and the Association des Québécois united contre le racialisme (AQUR).