René groomed Céline, right?
EDIT: bullet point formatting for Guy Cloutier's crimes he pleaded guilty to.
I'm from Québec so this topic is no news to us.
I've seen a similar posts where her relationship with René is often praised and comments about grooming are ignored or discredited because they seems to really love each other...
He 100% groomed her and this is a weird white lie that way too many people, including in Quebec, seemed to turned a blind eye to for way too long.
In the early 90s, when she was maybe 18, she was already an international superstar. Céline and René represented a special kind of worldwide success the province of Québec rarely had. Céline wasn't some nepo baby from an already super famous music family, she wasn't some kid from another country who happened to live in Quebec for like only 2 years when she became popular... She was a low-income, blue-collar, working class, french speaking "Québecoise" from a family of 14. She was one of us. So when we heard/hear of Céline Dion, yes, she "came" with her already known older manager which she's also dating. But the topic wasn't even discussed, why would it? She's of legal age and the guy is older than her, oh well... Let's keep focusing on just how much we like her music, how successful she is, how she's making us proud of being Québecois and how much she's making the whole province shine!
Like many other places in North America, for the longest time, Québec had this bizarre culture of silence around pedophilia. It was shameful to be "involve" in such conversation for both the aggressor's family AND the victim's family. Predators did what they do best, they prey or targets weaker than them and they took advantage of that culture. Your priest school teacher touched you where!? You're imagining stuff and don't ever talk about this to anyone! And anyway, who's gonna believe you...That's what it was...Predators took advantage of that culture, especially ones with any form of power. Our Quebec entertainment industries(music, tv, movies, theatre, radio, etc) was no different.
While times have changed, it's still not perfect and there's still many creeps roaming around. But MANY of them we're outed during the #MeToo movement. There was also one event that really shocked the whole province and it kind of made us question if there was any other old manager who could've took advantage of his very young child protégé. The Guy Cloutier scandal. This is also relevant when discussing René Angélil, since Guy and René were great friends and business associates. But let's first start with Céline and René.
René met Céline when she was only 12 years old and René 38, married to his second wife and had 3 kids. Céline's family sent René her demo tape. Convinced of her talent, Angélil went all-in and mortgaged his home to help finance her 1981 debut album. A year later, René even sued and pushed out Céline's at the time manager, Paul Lévesque, to own 100% of her management rights, on top of the discs sales. At this point, René was Céline's agent, manager and producer. He controlled 100% of Céline's career.
It was already obvious that their relationship was much more than just "artist/manager". Céline's mother was against any form of romantic relationship with him as soon as she suspected it was more than professional. She claimed it was wrong that a man of his age would go after a kid 26 years younger than him and that those people are no prince charming. These talks happened early in Céline's career. Her mother tried to dissuade her of her relationship on multiple occasions. This all comes from Céline Dion herself
According to Céline, she "started to have feelings for René when she 17-18. Which is curious because when she was 17, is also when René divorced his wife... At 19 years old, Céline told her mother she was dating René, now 44.
For people who don't know, there's this infamous novel named "Lolita". Released in 1955, the novel is known as "the" pedophile novel. The story's narrator is an adult man who becomes sexually obsessed with and abuses a 12-year-old girl he nicknames "Lolita." The novel is written from the self-justifying, manipulative and predatory narrator's perspective who's rationalizing his sexual abuse of a child. Today, the "Lolita effect", describes how the novel and its cultural spinoffs have normalized, and at times celebrated, the sexualization of children. As a recent example, Jeffrey Epstein's plane was named the "Lolita Express". Also, in the Epstein files, they found a picture of a potential victim's foot with a quote from Lolita written on said foot. The picture shows the foot on a bed, with the Lolita book next to her foot.
In 1987, when Céline was 18 y/o, she recorded the song named "Lolita (trop jeune pour aimer) / Lolita (too young to love)". The song can easily be described to be about a young girl lusting to lose her virginity to a much older man. The angle is that the lust is wrong but the protagonist's love for this older man is just too strong. Now, of all the names they could've pick, why the fuck would they pick Lolita!? Why are they making a 18 years old sing that!? If it's not dog-whistle, I don't know what it is.
The song's french lyrics translates to:
- If you don't want to take the love I give you
- I could drive you mad, drive you mad all the way
- Lolita isn't too young to love
- Isn't too young to give herself
The last half of the song is basically pedo fantasy:
- All those nights I spent, alone, caressing you
- You have to give them back to me, give them back one by one
- All those nights all alone in the darkness of my room, dreaming that you're coming to take me
- Will you keep me waiting for days, for months?
- If you don't come, it'll be someone else
- If it's not you, it'll be your fault if I regret for the rest of my life, my first night of love
Keep in mind that René controlled every aspect of Céline's career. He vetoed e-very-thing. He knew the song was called Lolita, he knew what the lyrics were about, and thought "yup! that's good for me!".
This song was written by Luc Plamondon, a very famous song writer who worked with many french artists from Québec and France. In 2000, Plamondon also wrote the french song "Criminel"(Criminal) for the Québec artist Garou, who was also very successful and popular in France.
The song's french lyrics translates to:
- With her, oh, it’s passionate
- With her, it’s consensual
- It’s beyond words
- Between the flesh and the skin, she looks like she just stepped out from under her mother’s skirt
- You’d think she’s never had a lover
- But beware the child-woman
- Beware her 14 years
- Because of her, they call me a criminal
The song continues:
- Her small teenage body holds nothing particularly unsettling for you
- You see nothing perverse in her blue-green gaze
- Nothing of the "femme fatale" in her overly pale lips
- Too bad for you
- As for me, I admit it
54 France children protection groups came out to denounce the song as encouraging pedophilia. Garou ended up removing the song for his live shows' line-up. Plamondon defended himself, arguing(in french): > "As a song writer, I claim freedom of speech. If art's rules are to be dictated by bossy public moral women, we'll be back into inquisition time! Laws arbitrary dictates the minimum age for sexual consent. 15 in France, 18 in Canada, 12 in some asian countries."
Céline has 2 songs written by Plamondon on her 1981's Incognito album. She also released a 12 songs' Plamondon cover album in 1991...
René Angélil was also best friend and business partner with famous music producer/agent Guy Cloutier. René Angélil started his managing career in early 1960 by working under Cloutier in his music production company. Angélil eventually left to start his own music production company after learning the ropes from Cloutier. They remained great friends and business associates up until Cloutier's downfall. Cloutier was also a highly successful, respected and powerful music producer/manager. He reached a great level of fame and success from managing the career of 2 extremely famous Québecois child singers, René Simard and his sister Nathalie Simard. In 1971, Cloutier discovered and managed 8 years old René Simard and in 1978, René's younger sister, 11 years old Nathalie Simard. In 2004, Nathalie Simard pressed charges against Cloutier which led to his arrest. At first, Cloutier pleaded not-guilty but when he went to court for his trial date scheduling, he switched his plea to guilty. Turns out, he's been sexually abusing Nathalie since day 1, from 1978 up until 2001. There was also a second victim. Logically, it's assumed it was René Simard. However, to this day, his/her identity was never revealed. Keep in mind that up until this moment, Cloutier has been a very close friend and business partner to René Angélil. Cloutier ended up pleading guilty to:
- Rape
- Sexual assault
- Sexual assault with a weapon
- Indecent exposure
- Battery
- Obstruction of justice
Nothing points that René Angélil did the same things to Céline, nor is it my claim or opinion. However, Both came from an industry and society who were used to turn a blind eye to older man diddling with kids, especially man with power.
Just imagine being a 12 years old child, there's this famous man who took an insane financial risk to make you a superstar. 100% of his job is dedicated to you. That man is 26 years older than you, a full grown man that look's like your own dad. A man with a very successful career, a house, a car, a wife and 3 kids. He even sued your former manager to have you all for himself. 12 years old you wouldn't feel like you owe him? That whatever he says is the truth? That whatever he says goes? That's one hell of an imbalance of power and authority.
René Angélil had TOTAL control over Céline's life from the very first day they met. Only one year later, at 13, Céline left her home, stopped her education, and started touring internationally with René by her side, at all time. Her career never stopped growing ever since. She recorded and toured 9 albums between the age of 12 and 18. He chose what she sang, what she'll wear, where she'll perform. He was her mentor, her coach, her agent, her producer, her financial manager. He's been controlling every single aspect of her day-to-day life since she was only 12. Céline and René ate together, slept at the same hotels, travelled together, recorded music together, met people together, went to events together, did interviews together...
Yes, he groomed a child 26 years younger than him to guarantee himself, at the very least, a super young and fresh devoted future wife. Wife who, turns out, was a highly talented singer which quickly made him a multi-millionaire and eventually, one of the most powerful man in all of music industry.
Did they "really" love each other? Of course...sure...That's what groomers do. They prey on young kids which they're attracted to. They groom the kid to fall in love with them. So saying "you can tell they really loved each other" doesn't change the fact that, YES, René Groomed Céline.
I really hope we can agree that while Céline Dion is one of the greatest, her relationship with her manager and husband was really wrong, and we shouldn't condone it.