Portolano affair, the confession of Pierre Ménès
Having left Canal+ after the broadcast of the report “I’m not a slut, I’m a journalist”, produced by Marie Portolano, Pierre Ménès briefly returned to the subject this Monday.
A few years ago, Pierre Ménès was one of the most prominent sports journalists on the small screen. A polemicist with strong opinions, he gave viewers the benefit of Canal+. Binomial of Hervé Mathoux in the Canal Football Club ,the former of The Team suddenly saw his media career change one evening in March 2021, after the broadcast of a documentary broadcast on the encrypted channel and entitled “ I’m not a bitch, I’m a journalist “. Directed by Marie Portolano and Guillaume Priou, it evoked the sexism present in the world of sports journalism. Questioned by former colleagues, Pierre Ménès was first removed from the air, before deciding, in agreement with his employer, to leave Canal+. An experience that still marks him today.
Now a little further away from the media world due in particular to fragile health, Pierre Ménès has not definitively cut the microphone. On his channel YouTube, the journalist continues to comment on and analyze sports news. He also allows his listeners to ask him questions on different subjects and this Monday, a slightly more personal question was submitted to him: “ As a public figure, with the difficulties you have suffered in your career, have you ever felt threatened to the point of being placed under police protection? »
No police protection
To this question, Pierre Ménès responded with his usual frankness, evoking for the occasion the period known at the time of the famous Portolano affair. “ No never. Even at the height of the Portolano affair and the Parc des Princes (he had been accused by a hostess of having made an inappropriate gesture towards her, editor’s note). The insults have always been confined to social networks. Oddly enough, face-to-face, I only received messages of love, support and compassion. Which, moreover, leaves one perplexed about the reality of social networks. No, I never needed it. »
And to conclude with a quip of his own: “ Maybe it will happen. Maybe one day I’ll take a political stand… Don’t worry, it won’t happen. »
