French comedian Seb Mellia in turmoil. The 38-year-old stand-up comedian is facing accusations of sexual violence by around <> women, relayed by Belgian comedian Florence Mendez on social media last week. It is not known at this time whether any complaints have been filed.
What do the testimonies say?
It all started with this message posted on January 12 by Belgian comedian Florence Mendez on her Instagram account, which she has since deleted. "I am aware that I am exposing myself to severe repercussions. (...) I can't keep quiet for another second, the safety of women who frequent the comedy world is at stake," she wrote, before explaining that she had received "four testimonies about Seb Mellia."
"One is about consensual but brutal sex. Another said she was pinned against a wall and forcibly kissed. The last two tell of forced intercourse, including sodomy, with the removal of the condom during the act without the partner's consent," the actress explains, while insisting that the four women "don't know each other."
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The next day, the Belgian comedian made a new post, which she has also since deleted, in which she announced that she had received messages from other women recounting similar facts. "Two that show that in the industry, we knew who he was. Two that talk about sexual harassment. Five that speak of forcing, that is, of an extremely heavy insistence on having a relationship. Four that talk about sexual assault. Five who talk about rape," she captioned the post, sharing excerpts of the messages she received. She is said to have collected about twenty testimonies in total. To date, none of these women have spoken publicly on his behalf.
Testimonies are piling up against comedian Seb Mellia (via Instagram) pic.twitter.com/kw0Y2PcGat
— Boris Bastide (@BorisBastide) January 12, 2024
"It's up to Seb Mellia to be scared now. It's up to him to be ashamed. It's up to him to feel dirty," says Florence Mendez, who also encourages women to file complaints. On Sunday, she explained on her social networks that she wanted to pass "the rest" to a journalist investigating sexual violence in the stand-up world and redirected the victims to the association Behind the Curtain for legal and psychological help.
Disrupted representation
At the call of Florence Mendez, a few dozen activists and supporters of the #MeTooStandUp movement gathered on Saturday evening in front of the Cirque Royal hall in Brussels, where a performance of Seb Mellia was taking place. Slogans such as "Rapist we see you, victim we believe you", "Victim of Seb Mellia we believe you" and "Famous rapist, rapist anyway" were seen outside. Spectators entering the hall were also booed.
Today's TW news 👆
: rape and sexual
violence On Saturday evening, feminist activists intervened during the show of Seb Mellia, accused of rape.
18 testimonies were taken against #SebMellia. Of these testimonies, 5 speak of rape. #metoostandup pic.twitter.com/jYykDzPtE9
— FRAICHES (@fraiches) January 15, 2024
Some protesters then entered the Cirque Royal to disrupt the show, the stand-up was heckled during his performance which had to be interrupted for several minutes. "There's a rapist in the room," one could hear chanting. "This is not the place to explain. There's justice for that, there's courts, there's nothing I can do," Seb Mellia replied simply from the stage.
What does Seb Mellia say?
The comedian, known for his stint at the Jamel Comedy Club, has been slow to react publicly to the accusations made against him. After depriving his X account (formerly Twitter) and shutting down his YouTube channel, he spoke out on Instagram on Monday evening. In his stories, the comedian denounced "a cabal against [him]" that has "reached its limits."
He claims that "intimate photos" of him were circulated "without [his] consent". "Making screenshots when I asked to delete it only to publish it years later. These kinds of things have to be dealt with in the courts with the courts. Not on social media," the stand-up comedian wrote. Her post is accompanied by screenshots of an intimate conversion with a woman. On one of them, we can read that he asks his interlocutor to "delete the capture" he has just sent, to which she replies "yes I did, no stress, this conversation has already disappeared".
"You're waiting for me to defend myself on social media, but I'm not going to get into that game. My silence is not a confession," he says in the following story, in which he shares a screenshot of episode five of comedian Rosa Bursztein's podcast "The Guys I Want Ken," in which he was the interviewee and in which he explains "his vision of sex." He claims that the podcast was "used against [him]."