Bastien Vives today he replied to the cancellation of his Angouleme International Comics Festival exposure. The The Festival has canceled yesterday’s event citing threats of violence against Vives, the Festival organizing team and visitors.
In a post on his Instagram this afternoon, Vives condemned the “glorification” of pedophilia, the culture of rape and sexual violence; reiterated his diverse catalog of work; and pointed out that particularly controversial works are released in shrink wrap and with warning labels.
[Translated via DeepL]:
“I condemn pedophilia and its glorification and trivialization. I condemn the culture of rape and violence against women. I wish to express my sincere sympathy with the victims of incest and all other sexual abuse. Under no circumstances should my books be read in the light of complacency with these crimes.
“My work is diverse. For those who have never read me, most of my books are about the birth of love and desire. This is the topic that inspires me the most. My four so-called “pornographic books” are sold in bookstores in blister packs, with a warning and an under-18 ban. They are part of a burlesque humor genre.
Vives particularly elaborates on her bad behavior online, which the festival commented on yesterday in its cancellation statement.
From yesterday’s press release:
“Bastien Vivès has made several comments – scattered over the years – which to some may seem very shocking and/or inappropriate: the Festival was not initially aware of them. In view of the situation, it is up to the author to explain, in the way he deems appropriate, their meaning, their raison d’être and to specify the circumstances in which they were expressed.
His Instagram post specifically mentions an incident where he reportedly trolled a fellow artist Emmaand – most recently – when he released a cheesy cartoon featuring lesbians earlier this year which he removed following online backlash.
Lives:
“My presence on social networks has often been childish. Sometimes I used it as an outlet. I am sincerely sorry for some of my comments, and especially those against the artist Emma posted on my Facebook wall to which I want to apologize. It was gratuitously violent, disrespectful and most of all unworthy. I left Facebook and Twitter some time later.
“More recently, an Instagram post of mine caused reactions I didn’t want. I took responsibility for it by deleting it and apologizing.”
The fiftieth edition of the Angoulême Festival takes place from 26 to 29 January 2023.
The Instagram post translated by DeepL in full:
“I condemn pedophilia and its glorification and trivialization. I condemn the culture of rape and violence against women. I wish to express my sincere sympathy with the victims of incest and all other sexual abuse. Under no circumstances should my books be read in the light of complacency with these crimes.
“My work is diverse. For those who have never read me, most of my books are about the birth of love and desire. This is the topic that inspires me the most. My four so-called “pornographic books” are sold in bookstores in blister packs, with a warning and an under-18 ban. They are part of a burlesque humor genre. I have sometimes taken up this provocative style, awkwardly, in my interviews. People sometimes say about me that I’m unfiltered, but at no point did I want to hurt victims of sexual crimes and abuse. And of course I want to apologize to these people if my words may have hurt them.
“My presence on social networks has often been childish. Sometimes I used it as an outlet. I am sincerely sorry for some of my comments, and especially those against the artist Emma posted on my Facebook wall to which I want to apologize. It was gratuitously violent, disrespectful and most of all unworthy. I left Facebook and Twitter some time later.
“More recently, an Instagram post of mine caused reactions I didn’t want. I took responsibility for it by deleting it and apologizing.
“The Angoulême exhibition did not address these controversial topics, which in no way define the entirety of my work. Everything had been thought out and weighed taking into account the constraints of an event like the International Comics Festival.
“Today I realize that beyond my works, it is above all my words that have upset, now I will take the utmost care when I express myself in public or in the media.
Bastien Vives
