2023-08-09 19:12:00
The artist was to perform in the Ardennes for a concert on August 17. The festival explained that it wanted to respect a time of silence to let justice do its job.
By HR with AFP Lomepal, deprived of a concert at the Cabaret vert. He is accused of rape for acts dating back to 2017. © JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN / AFP Published on 08/09/2023 at 7:12 p.m.
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The Ardennes Cabaret vert festival in Charleville-Mézières, announced this Wednesday August 9 the deprogramming of the concert of the rapper Lomepal, initially scheduled for August 17 next. The singer is currently under investigation for rape. “Cabaret vert cannot remain indifferent to the emotions aroused by this complaint, and this, in accordance with its values”, can we read in a press release issued by the organizers of the festival, organized this year from August 16 to 20.
Although the presumption of innocence is “a fundamental principle”, “the organization of the festival believes that a time of hindsight and silence is necessary”, continues the press release. “The priority is to let justice do its job. »
Facts dating back to 2017
The 31-year-old rapper – Antoine Valentinelli, his real name – is the subject of a preliminary investigation for rape after a complaint filed in 2020 for events that occurred in 2017 abroad, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
After the confirmation, Thursday, August 3, of the opening of this investigation, Lomepal denied the accusations against him and said he was ready to “respond to justice”. The rapper performed on the stage of the Electronic Beaches festival in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes) on Sunday, despite calls for the cancellation of this concert, the first since the confirmation of the opening of the investigation.
READ ALSOAccused of rape, rapper Lomepal denies: “I have nothing to hide”
Combining music, comic strips, cinema and conferences, the Cabaret vert de Charleville-Mézières festival has multiplied its attendance tenfold since its launch in 2005, to exceed 100,000 spectators. This year it welcomes, among other artists, Christine and the Queens and Juliette Armanet.
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