YouTube ‘humorist’ Greg Toussaint convicted of incitement to homophobia
Greg Toussaint had claimed LGBT people are corrupt and exploit minors
A French court found “humorist” Greg Toussaint guilty of public insult and incitement to hatred for his anti-LGBT viral videos, and ordered him to pay damages to plaintiff LGBT advocacy groups.
The facts
Two years ago, Greg Toussaint promised on his social networks to wage a media and political “war” against LGBT+ activists in the name of defending children in danger. But on April 9, he was sentenced found guilty of public insult and incitement to hatred by a Paris criminal court, and sentenced to a suspended fine of €3,000 as well as €500 in damages to each of the four plaintiff associations, including Stop Homophobie.
Toussaint, who hails from the French island Reunion, published several videos on YouTube, in which he waded into the controversies around anti-LGBT associations in schools and drag queen story hours in municipal libraries by alleging that homosexuals were trying to corrupt and sexually exploit minors.
In the process, however, he found himself banned by YouTube, a decision that deprived him of the bulk of his income.
He was sued by four French advocacy groups: Stop Homophobie, Adheos, Mousse, and Famille LGBT.
Bad buzz or homophobia? Or both?
As a defense against their legal action, Toussaint claimed his videos were the equivalent of schoolboy “jokes” with his virtual community—he previously had nearly 400,000 subscribers on YouTube—and “the right to humor,” according to the secretary-general of Stop Homophobie, Terrence Khatchadourian.
“This is a roundabout way of talking about freedom of expression or freedom of artistic creation,” according to another observer of the case.
Greg Toussaint repeatedly told the judge that the disputed content were “sketches,” intended to stir up anger in order to gain virality, on a topic that was popular in the media and therefore easily monetized.
Fleeting fame and real precariousness
He also explained that “YouTube was his main source of income” and that with the closure of his accounts, he now finds himself “penniless,” destitute, and “in a precarious situation.”
This defense clearly failed to convince the judge, given the virulence and reiteration of the accused’s LGBT-phobic remarks in several of his videos.
He was given a suspended fine of €3,000, taking into account his personal financial situation, although he is also required to pay €500 to each of the four associations that filed civil suits in the case.
Greg Toussaint left the hearing unaccompanied, but with a conviction on his criminal record.
