Repercussions of Papadakis' book & Cizeron's response

[Sylvia]

Creating a separate thread from this post in the Skating Books thread since there appears to be ongoing discussions in several places in the public forum here on FSU:

Another article covering the upcoming release of Gabriella's book, with more quotes and details. Some parts are going to be heartbreaking to read: [same franceinfo.fr article link is posted below]

In fairness, Guillaume also gave a long interview to L'équipe [Jan. 8th article by Céline Nony], sharing his side on why their partnership dissolved (it's behind a paywall unfortunately): https://www.lequipe.fr/Patinage-art...tait-plus-sur-la-meme-longueur-d-onde/1631875

In this book ["Pour ne pas disparaître" (To Avoid Disappearing)], to be published on January 15, Gabriella Papadakis recounts the violence she suffered, her distress, and the deterioration of her professional relationship with Guillaume Cizeron. (Jan. 10, 2026 article in French by Quentin Ramelet):

Patinage artistique : dans son livre "Pour ne pas disparaître", Gabriella Papadakis brise l'image du tandem parfait avec son ancien partenaire Guillaume Cizeron

Gabriella Papadakis raconte dans ce livre à paraître le 15 janvier, les violences subies, son mal-être et la dégradation de sa relation professionnelle avec Guillaume Cizeron.

www.franceinfo.fr

Associated Press article by Samuel Petrequin (Jan. 13):

Ice dance champion Cizeron accuses ex-partner Papadakis of smear campaign ahead of Olympic Games

Olympic ice dance champion Guillaume Cizeron accuses his former partner Gabriella Papadakis of spreading lies about him.

apnews.com

Edited to add the link to the paywalled L'Equipe article by Clémentine Blondet (also published Jan. 8) about Papadakis' book:

Dans son livre, Gabriella Papadakis dénonce le monde du patinage et raconte la dégradation de sa relation avec Guillaume Cizeron : «J'ai fini par perdre toute estime de moi»

Dans un livre à paraître le 15 janvier, «Pour ne pas disparaître», Gabriella Papadakis dénonce le monde du patinage qui, selon elle, l'a considérée comme un objet et pointe le comportement de son ancien partenaire, Guillaume Cizeron.

www.lequipe.fr

 

[Winnipeg]

I have not read the book, nor do I intend to, but is smells of revenge of some sort.

 

[Tesla]

I have not read the book, nor do I intend to, but is smells of revenge of some sort.

It sounds like a woman writing about her trauma. Heaven forfend she should do that. She should just keep her feelings to herself, right? I hope that Gabriella speaking out helps just one person.

 

[Winnipeg]

It sounds like a woman writing about her trauma. Heaven forfend she should do that. She should just keep her feelings to herself, right? I hope that Gabriella speaking out helps just one person.

If that is what it is, then good for her!

 

[Kateri]

I mean sure, releasing it now is kind of a dick move, but it sounds like she's owed one. Take the shot, Gabby!

 

[gkelly]

I mean sure, releasing it now is kind of a dick move,

And if she wanted to release it earlier but the publisher said Let's hold it for right around the Olympics, then who's the dick?

 

[Tesla]

I mean sure, releasing it now is kind of a dick move, but it sounds like she's owed one. Take the shot, Gabby!

Blame the publisher for that. Gabby has no control over that.

 

[once_upon]

I don't know anything about book publishing timelines - who controls the release dates? Once you've signed a contract with a publisher?

Oops, I see others said the same

 

[Tesla]

If that is what it is, then good for her!

What else would it be? The description of the book clearly mentions her past traumas.

 

[layman]

I am sure that if there were leaked tapes of some of the behavior that Papadakis describes (on the part of Guillaume Cizeron), like there were with the Shibutanis, then people would be more inclined to believe Gabbie. Her accounts sound believable to me (especially in light of what we witnessed with the Shibutanis) and paint a picture of a deeply unequal power relationship between male and female partners in Ice Dance. I was very troubled reading about the trauma that Papadakis endured and also troubled by Cizeron's quick (and insincere and self-serving) denials.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

I work in publishing and Gabi would have had no say as to the timing of the book's release. And if it was actually some kind of "revenge" story, it would have never seen the light of day. Gabi isn't an A-list celebrity so such a book wouldn't have been worth the risk to the publisher.

 

[her grace]

“You’re so vain, you probably think the publishing timeline is about you”

 

[Debbie S]

“You’re so vain, you probably think the publishing timeline is about you”

Now that song is going to be in my head all day.

 

[skategal]

“You’re so vain, you probably think the publishing timeline is about you”

You win the internet today with that!

 

[deegee]

I hope that Gabriella speaking out helps just one person.

my naieve self hopes that, especially now with guillaume's ott pushback, this breaks the culture of abuse wide open in the figure skating community and creates long-needed & far-reaching cultural shifts

 

[my little pony]

the more he Streisand effects this book into the zeitgeist, the more I think about getting it in French despite not knowing much French

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

the more he Streisand effects this book into the zeitgeist, the more I think about getting it in French despite not knowing much French

Considering Papadakis's publisher is barely featuring the book on their social media, up until Cizeron opened his mouth, I suspect they had very modest hopes for the book.

 

[Bigbird]

“You’re so vain, you probably think the publishing timeline is about you”

Love this!!!

 

[Bigbird]

Considering Papadakis's publisher is barely featuring the book on their social media, up until Cizeron opened his mouth, I suspect they had very modest hopes for the book.

Then he went and lost his mind, LOL.

 

[taz'smum]

Gabi's book is already a best seller on Amazon on pre-orders alone.
I hope she cut a good deal with the publishers.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

On a lighter note, I skimmed a bit of the book's free preview. Gabi mentions that the president of her childhood rink had a Québécois accent that no one could understand, which is hilarious because after Pap/Ciz moved to IAM she would have been hearing that accent all of the time.

 

[cholla]

On a lighter note, I skimmed a bit of the book's free preview. Gabi mentions that the president of her childhood rink had a Québécois accent that no one could understand, which is hilarious because after Pap/Ciz moved to IAM she would have been hearing that accent all of the time.

She even caught it!

 

[MsZem]

I just saw a story about this linked fairly prominently on the NYT website

Olympic ice dancing champion Guillaume Cizeron accuses former partner of ‘smear campaign’

Cizeron, 31, danced with Gabriella Papadakis, 30, from childhood until December 2024.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I am sure that if there were leaked tapes of some of the behavior that Papadakis describes (on the part of Guillaume Cizeron), like there were with the Shibutanis, then people would be more inclined to believe Gabbie.

I bet if there were, there would still be plenty of people ready to doubt a woman and excuse a man

 

[marbri]

I am reading various articles and posts with very different interpretations of the same events.
My takeaway is people need to read the book for full context because going off on cherrypicked quotes that may be taken out of context. And maybe not even how Gabby herself intended them to come across.

This article by Maria Bagryantseva so far, to me, gives a more nuanced interpretation of quotes based on her reading of the book. I am not going to provide any quotes because I think it's important to start from the top and read you way through to the end.

Скандальная книга Пападакис: страх перед Сизероном, выкидыш на льду, «хоть бы Тесса и Скотт упали»

Багрянцева уже прочитала.

www.sports.ru

And I will have to rely on the google translation (which could be a problem contributing to a lot of contradictions I am seeing recently when it comes to this topic ). After reading the full article there is one section that is quite striking in how much it contradicts a long held belief that many have determined was fact and used as a hammer against some people.

But after reading that it confirms to me that this is a story that isn't black and white. There are no clear heroes or villains here. Just humans trying to navigate their way through extremely difficult events, mental illnesses and life.

On a final note ( because it's currently being discussed elsewhere on the board as fact about the timing of this book ). It's Maria's take away that this book probably wouldn't have been written had Guillaume not started skating again with Laurence. She writes the trigger for writing the book was something Gabby's agent to her:

It seems that the trigger for writing the book was the words of Agent Papadakis.

"It's funny that neither Guillaume nor your former coaches mention you. They act as if you never existed, as if they're trying to make you disappear."

In an instagram story "ask me anything" by Gabby a month ago one of the questions was why she chose to write the book now. She answered that one year ago ( so about the end of 2024) her agent suggested she write a book. That she hesitated a lot and then finally decided to. She wrote the book in 2025.

I think we can all figure out on our own what had just happened and what was happening in her timeline.

 

[my little pony]

as a skater w/o a partner, if someone thinks you can sell a book, you write a book.

 

[Wyliefan]

From that piece, it sounds like there's a lot more nuance in the book than a lot of those quotes led us to believe.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I thought I had read that the book idea came out of her writings and musings before the split, but was triggered by the split. The timeline as I understand it was 1. Split, with the last straw having to be on the ice with Sorensen, still skating with Fournier Beaudy, 2. Sorensen suspension 3. Cizeron proposes new partnership around the holidays.

Is "Papadakis Agent" her sports agent, or her book agent?

 

[TAHbKA]

Everything I read so far sounds like she should had said to her shrink in a privacy of the shrink's room. But I start to get a feeling it's a French common thing releasing a book with things that should had been kept private. The ballet dancers Marchand and Louvet both released books when they were 23 (and were named stars of Paris Opera Ballet). Louvet's book is mainly about nothing and a bit about his 'christian guilt' for being gay, Marchand's 2/3 about his friend/hate relationship with Louvet and should had really been kept private. Both said in the interviews they saw no point in the books at the age of 23 and wanted to wait , but the publisher thought it was a good idea. Papadakis' book sounds the same French thing?

 

[cholla]

I thought I had read that the book idea came out of her writings and musings before the split, but was triggered by the split. The timeline as I understand it was 1. Split, with the last straw having to be on the ice with Sorensen, still skating with Fournier Beaudy, 2. Sorensen suspension 3. Cizeron proposes new partnership around the holidays.

Is "Papadakis Agent" her sports agent, or her book agent?

Book agent. (Sport agent was the same as Guillaume and AFAIK Gabriella no longer have one)

Gabriella is an avid reader and was already talking about writing a book years ago when she was on tour and shared a room with my surrogate daughter. She was also constantly writing stuff down. If she wrote her book after she decided to quit, I assume it's mainly because then she had enough time to. The will/need to write this autobiography may have been triggered by FB/C new partnership, but it's only 1 in many components. She was on French radio this morning and will be on TV tomorrow. Nothing new, she holds her ground.