Violence Faced with multiple accusations of sexual violence, the youtuber recently defended himself in a video posted on his channel
Youtuber Léo Grasset. — 20 Minutes
- The Paris prosecutor’s office announced that it had opened a rape investigation on Tuesday, targeting youtuber Léo Grasset, after a complaint was filed on November 24.
- The influencer with 1.2 million subscribers on his channel is also subject to a preliminary investigation for sexual harassment. He “formally contests the charges” against him.
- 20 Minutes takes stock of this sordid affair which is shaking the world of YouTube influencers.
It’s a case that shakes the community. YouTubers. These influencers who share videos on the platform, each with their little specialty. Among them, Léo Grasset, who has more than a million subscribers on his channel is the subject of an investigation for rape, announced this Tuesday the Paris prosecutor’s office. He is also accused of psychological and sexual violence. The YouTuber denies the accusations revealed by the Mediapart investigation site. 20 Minuteslooks back on this case which is reminiscent of the episodes “#MeToo” who upset many sectors, particularly cultural ones.
Who is Léo Grasset ?
Léo Grasset is a 33-year-old YouTuber, followed by 1.2 million subscribers on his YouTube channel “DirtyBiology”. His niche: science popularization. He tackles subjects as diverse as artificial intelligence, dinosaurs or apnea. His first video was posted in 2014 and was about the flying dragons of the Game Of Thrones series. His videos are successful since they sometimes accumulate up to more than two million views.
Where? comes the complaint?
The rape investigation was closed. opened Tuesday after a complaint against the influencer, said the Paris prosecutor’s office, confirming information from Mediapart. The investigations were entrusted to the 3rd DPJ (judicial police district), specified the floor. According to Mediapart, the complaint was; filed last Thursday, November 24, by a 22-year-old journalism student, named Léa, according to the investigative site.
It is also referred to as by a preliminary investigation by the Lyon public prosecutor’s office. This survey was open to following a complaint for sexual harassment, filed according to Mediapart at the end of June by Clothilde Chamussy, who hosts the YouTube channel “Passé wild” (127,000 subscribers).
“Four other women we have interviewed since the end of June report ‘problems respecting their consent’, but also ‘control’ – accusations of a different nature and for which no one plans to file a complaint,” by Edwy Plenel. In total, no less than 13 women testified. acts of sexist, psychological or sexual violence against Léo Grasset in the columns of Mediapart.
When did the affair date back?
Léa denounces facts dating back to; the night of November 1 to 2, 2021. In the complaint consulted by Mediapart, the journalism student recounts an alcoholic evening during which Léo Grasset allegedly took advantage of the incident. of the state of inebriation of the young woman. Taken to the YouTuber’s hotel room, she says she woke up “feeling fingers in [her] sex in the middle of the night” and remembers being “Tetanized”. At this time, Léo Grasset would have asked him; to “relax” and would have started to penetrate it. She remembers being “still and mute”.
What does L”o Grasset answer?
For his part, Léo Grasset “strongly contests the accusations” and “will provide its responses to the competent judicial authorities,” with AFP Me Fares Aidel, who defends the youtubeur with Me Camille Loyer. The influencer also responded to the accusations relayed by Mediapart in a video posted on his channel in mid-November.
“I have a sometimes messy love life, and sometimes I also make big redneck jokes but yet the article paints a picture of me being dishonest;” it builds a toxic character out of it. shots of insinuations and truncated quotes,” a young woman in 2016. He also claims to have “cheated”, “lied”, and evokes “remorse” for “a chaotic few years”.
What do his fellow youtubers think?
Since the first testimonies collected by Mediapart in June, many influencers on the online video platform have taken up the subject “Léo Grasset”. More recently, YouTuber Manon Bril, better known by her nickname “It’s another story”, reacted on Twitter. “Making a case like this public not only educates the public […] but also warns others that they are not alone,” she commented. And to continue: “I also greatly admire the strength of all the women who spoke, congratulations again and thank you.”
our dossier on violence against women< p>“We will stand at his side, as we have been doing for all of us and from the beginning” to the address of the plaintiff Léa, Marine Périn, or “Marinette”. The latter also testified to the police for psychological and sexual violence on the part of Léo Grasset.