Lio speaks on the Patrick Bruel affair: “We have known for years, he has a problem”

For many years, Lio has been one of the French personalities most committed to the fight against sexist and sexual violence, and has spoken out on this subject. She had thus intervened in the Netflix documentary returning to the femicide of Marie Trintignant by Bertrand Cantat, she who had been one of the first personalities to speak on this subject.

Currently on tour as part of the show Les Années 80the singer gave an interview to The Dispatch on May 20, 2026 in which she spoke about the cases of rape and sexual assault targeting Patrick Bruel.

Lio and his unfiltered comments about Patrick Bruel

Asked about her position vis-à-vis certain French artists, Lio, who does not wish to “make the difference between the man and the artist”, commented on the cases targeting Patrick Bruel without taking a pinch of salt. “We’ve known it for years… Let him go get treatment!she blurted. We need to teach him how to pull in his penis, I’m sorry, he has a problem.”

Before speaking out on this case, the singer had qualified Jacques Prévert and Boris Vian as “geniuses” and “very misogynistic”, also believing that Serge Gainsbourg was “the idol with feet of clay of France because he also represents France in all its disgustingness”. And to add about the latter: “I can’t stand all this anymore, so I sign all the petitions so that there is no street named after him“.

The call from several mayors for the cancellation of Patrick Bruel concerts

Patrick Bruel is the target of several complaints for rape and sexual assault in France and Belgium, the last of which came from host Flavie Flamant. Posted online on April 22, 2026 by the Salon Féministe collective, a petition calls for the cancellation of the singer’s tour which is due to occur in the coming weeks in several French cities from June 16, 2026. It has exceeded 28,000 signatories.

On May 20, 2026, Emmanuel Grégoire, the mayor of Paris, invited Patrick Bruel to give up performing in his city. “The presumption of innocence must be guaranteed. But including for the peace of mind of his defense, I think that indeed, he should withdraw, he should put his career on hold“, until “justice is done”, he declared on France 2. For his part, Benoît Payan, the mayor of Marseille, called on the singer to cancel his concert scheduled for October 30, 2026 in the Marseille city “out of respect for the words of the victims”.

On May 18, 2026, a former employee of Patrick Bruel’s label filed a complaint for sexual assault and attempted rape against the singer. She had testified under a false name to our colleagues at Elle in an article published on April 14, 2026.