The La Volte-Face animal shelter in Victoriaville says it is “grateful” to know that Éric Lapointe’s free show at Victofest will be moved to the paid portion of the program.
• Also read: Domestic violence controversy: Victoriaville cancels free Éric Lapointe show
“When presenting the show in a paid format, it is up to each individual to make a decision. “This formula is about the individual values of each individual and not about the collective values that a municipal organization reflects,” said the general director of the organization La Volte-Face, Julie Croteau, on Tuesday.
Éric Lapointe, who received a conditional discharge and a year's probation after pleading guilty to domestic assault on a woman in 2020, was scheduled to perform a free show on the final night of Victofest in Victoriaville, July 1 .
La Volte-Face, an organization that helps female victims of domestic violence, expressed discomfort with this free show in an open letter published on February 2nd. Three days later, Victoriaville Mayor Antoine Tardif asked Victofest to change its program so that a different artist would headline the free show on July 1. We don't yet know who will replace Éric Lapointe or what the new date of his show will be.
“We are grateful for the efforts to provide relief given the discomfort many people feel […] We would like to make it clear that our intention was never to harm the event in any way, but rather to take a stand on behalf of victims of domestic violence,” explains Ms. Croteau.
“We [le Victofest] wouldn't have changed anything about the programming, but we understand and respect the council's decision [municipal]», comment to the journal Yanick Poisson, President of Victofest.
Éric Lapointe's team did not respond to our interview requests.
Controversial
It's not the first time since 2020 that the rocker's appearance on a show has caused controversy. In 2021, Trois-Rivières Events Corporation canceled two events with him. This decision was justified by “the current situation in which society is developing and the fact that our organization must show solidarity with the situation of women”.
In September 2023, Éric Lapointe released the album Je marche dans ma vie, a premiere since 2018, in front of a full Théâtre Capitole. This musical return aroused the enthusiasm of his long-time admirers, but also the outrage of the Fédération des femmes du Québec, which judged that the situation had been “totally trivialized”.
In an interview with Le Journal on the occasion of the release of this album, the singer made it clear: as long as there is demand, he will continue to take the stage.
“I'm a musician and a singer, I don't know how to do anything else […] If it’s in a little tavern, that’s it.”
In an exclusive interview with Sophie Durocher on TVA in January, Éric Lapointe spoke publicly for the first time about his troubles with the law. He expressed regret over this situation and mentioned his state of intoxication at the time of the events, emphasizing: “It was not the alcohol that committed the act, but me.”