A small brown doll, two nails, accusations of witchcraft and a complaint filed.
What is this case that has agitated both the protagonists of the reality show "Lles Marseillais" (W9) as well as their fans for a fortnight?
The story resembles a wrestling fight in which each new blow is commented with delight on social networks.
Whether fictional or real, the scandal of the “Marseillais” is now in the hands of the courts.
Where does the scandal come from?
The story kicks off on Snapchat on Friday February 26.
Maeva Ghennam, candidate for the show since 2018, says she is "devastated".
She claims on the social network to have been betrayed by a friend.
She would have called on a "witch" in order to oust her from the show "Les Marseillais", whose new season of their adventures in Dubai has just been launched.
Then intervenes a certain Marc Blata, known in particular for his participation in "Beauty and its almost charming princes" on W9.
He now lives in Dubai and since 2019 has been trying to make people talk about him thanks to the gossip he delivers on the world of reality TV.
Supporting video, the blogger accuses Carla Moreau, an emblematic candidate of the “Marseillais” and Maeva's best friend, of being behind this “witch” affair.
This time, his gossip is successful: the news ignites the social networks and, on March 1, Marc Blata is explained live against Cyril Hanouna on the set of “Touche pas à mon poste” (C8).
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The video in question, shared on Snapchat, lets hear the voice of a woman - it is Carla - who asks that certain candidates of the "Marseillais", including Maeva, be excluded by the production.
At the same time, female hands - the “seer-witch”, according to Marc Blata - use nails to prick a small brown doll supposed to represent the protagonists targeted.
The ultimate evidence that Carla does witchcraft on Maeva 🔮🤯 pic.twitter.com/MGzNDx7sqU
- actualix & tvrl ✨ (@alixdmxtvr) March 1, 2021
Immediately, most of the show's candidates side with Maeva, saying they are “shocked” or “stunned”.
Carla's supporters meet on social networks.
The hashtag #SoutienCarlaMoreau is rising rapidly on Twitter.
They suspect Marc Blata of having wanted to "make the buzz".
But from Monday evening, Maeva operates a reverse gear.
The influencer wants to apologize to her friend.
“I've been on the phone with her for an hour, I just understood things.
And this whole story is false, ”she says, moved to tears, on Snapchat.
New twist the next day, when the young woman finally explains that the facts are true.
Faced with these accusations, what does Carla Moreau respond to?
After having remained silent for several days, the main interested party gave her version of the facts in the program "Touche pas à mon poste", Monday March 8.
“I've heard a lot about myself and I want to say what happened from the start.
I saw this clairvoyant when I was 17-18 years old.
I was not known at the time, ”she first explained.
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The young woman, now 24 years old, says that the clairvoyant would have contacted her again after her first appearance on the W9 show in 2016. “She remembered me.
She tells me she wants to see me.
(...) She asks me what I want in my life.
I told him that I wanted to succeed, to have a darling who was faithful, to have beautiful children, to earn a good living… It had become a bit of a confidante, ”continues the influencer.
"In no case did I wish any harm (...) I was terrified"
Carla Moreau confides on the witchcraft affair in #TPMP!
pic.twitter.com/e7KIjMM9Or
- TPMP (@TPMP) March 8, 2021
But their relationship takes a different turn: Carla claims to have been the victim of blackmail and extortion from this woman.
She doesn't deny the recordings posted on social media, but says they were made under duress.
“I was terrified of what they were able to do.
(...) It wasn't just this kind of videos, there were threats where they told me:
You know Carla, if you don't pay, you will have bad luck, there will be misfortunes to your family, to your mother,
”the young woman further clarified on the set of C8.
In total, the influencer claims to have paid nearly 1.2 million euros to the clairvoyant.
Is there a legal matter?
Also invited in "Touche pas à mon poste" Monday, March 8, Carla Moreau's lawyer announced that a complaint had been filed by the family of the young woman, a year and a half ago.
"When his relatives were contacted to encourage Carla to give checks, or that the checks be honored, they themselves made the decision to initiate the legal process," explained Me Alexandre Robelet.
The influencer also filed a complaint at the end of last week.
"A preliminary investigation is in progress of the head of abuse of social goods", indicates to the Parisian prosecutor of Marseilles.
These investigations relate to "embezzlement of funds operated to the detriment of the company CM Holding (
Editor's note
: which belongs to Carla Moreau
) and this to pay costs to a woman declaring herself as a clairvoyant".
The second part of the investigation "concerns the verification of the conditions under which Carla Moreau paid the funds of the company CM Holding, Ms. Moreau indicating to have been forced under threat", adds the prosecution.
And to stress: “These elements must obviously be verified.
"
Why such an interest ?
From February 26, Internet users fell in love with these accusations of witchcraft.
With each twist, hashtags referring to Carla Moreau or to the “Marseillais” appear in trending topics and tons of comments are posted.
"Witchcraft, the supernatural, the paranormal ... it has always been popular, it's as old as the history of the popular press", explains Arnaud Mercier, specialist in social networks at the University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas.
“Anything that has an element of mystery arouses interest, even fascination, since we could associate this mystery with a more or less magical form of belief, with something that is not intelligible.
"
The case has also known several ups and downs, with retractions and then new accusations.
A "scandal strategy" which, according to Arnaud Mercier, uses "very effective springs".
Thus, after the scandal, comes "indignation, which leads to speaking out."
Camps are emerging, "before being reconciled".
All of this contributes to "creating the buzz".
Could this story only be a communication blow?
A controversy that would allow a show to relaunch?
“Logically, a program that has existed for a long time is slowly running out.
So anything that can create conversation around him is good to take, ”speculates the specialist.
But here the witchcraft gave way to accusations of fraud and the case took a judicial turn.
“In any case, we keep talking about them and that's what counts,” observes Arnaud Mercier.
Who benefits?
In the radius of certainties, the affair made an unprecedented noise on social networks.
In total, more than 5 million tweets on the subject have been published on the subject according to the social network study platform Visibrain since the first revelations on February 26.
This story is fascinating beyond comprehension.
Audience level and contrary to what one might think, W9's flagship show did not benefit from a boom in viewers.
On the contrary, since the start of the broadcast, the number of viewers has even dwindled over the days, while remaining at a good level for the program.
That is to say around 900,000 faithful daily, after a good start beyond the million viewers.
Surprisingly, another program produced by the Banijay Group took advantage of the scandal: Cyril Hanouna's program, “Touche Pas à Mon Poste”, which has been revolving around the affair for eight days.
This Monday, the program made its season record with 1.9 million people watching the second part of the show dedicated to Carla Moreau, who spoke for the first time.
During that time "The Marseillais" pointed only to 677,000 aficionados ... Contacted by Le Parisien on the consequences of this affair, neither W9 nor Banijay have yet responded to our requests.
"It is really not sure that this case satisfies neither W9 nor Banijay", explains a seasoned follower of reality TV.
"It is not in the spirit of the program to put forward any kind of violence even if we are not immune to something mounted or orchestrated from scratch," adds this well-informed source.
Usually, however, the candidates' activities on social networks stick with the storytelling of the show, which is not the case this time around.
“The pseudos victims of this affair take advantage of it.
But in reality they don't need that.
Product placements are really already earning them a lot of money, ”notes the specialist in the genre.
For Carla Moreau and her companion Kevin Guedj on the other hand, this story costs them money.
For eight days, finished the investments produced on their accounts.
A real shortfall.
“But when we analyze the situation, basically blogger Marc Blata is the only one who really does well,” concludes our source.