Repercussions of Papadakis' book & Cizeron's response

[Daba]

Well reading the book I began to think Gabi is worse than Pasha Grishuk. Especially after part where she hoped Tessa and Scott will fall Then about miscarriage - that part is just sick. She had the decision, but her partner and coaches are blamed for it.
I don't want support Gabi just because she's a woman. So much jealousy in her words about Virtue and Moir and to Cizeron. I am just heartbroken and upset that my perception of her were far from reality

 

[marbri]

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.

I believe you. Anyone who follows Gabby on instagram sees she has been exploring all forms of art and expression. But I was just sharing Gabby's own answer to the question as to "why this book now" because that was a discussion in another thread where some people were writing, as if fact, that the book was a done deal long before certain specific events and that does not in fact seem to be the case. That was her answer, it was her agents idea and she hesitated a lot before deciding yes.

I just hope she wasn't manipulated into a rash decision to produce something quickly that she later regrets and causes harm to her mental health ( as seems to have occurred regarding another incident, the regret and misunderstanding part).

 

[Wyliefan]

She had the decision, but her partner and coaches are blamed for it.

Not true -- she wrote that Marie-France asked her what she wanted to do.

 

[MsZem]

Everything I read so far sounds like she should had said to her shrink in a privacy of the shrink's room.

I actually agree with this - it's probably cathartic and empowering for Gabriella at this point, but in the long run she may come to feel that some of what she wrote about was too private to share. And it seems like the people involved would have benefitted from actually communicating (and listening) as the events took place.

 

[kirkbiggestfan]

I just listened to her interview on the radio France Inter. It’s a tough listen as they play Guillaume’s voice when he said he had to be the leader of the team. Gabriella covers her ears. The interviewee is a bit surprised by Gabys giggly tone from the beginning. She says that’s her personality.

I haven’t read the book yet. I’m trying to get someone to send it to me from Paris or from Montreal.

 

[rfisher]

Well reading the book I began to think Gabi is worse than Pasha Grishuk. Especially after part where she hoped Tessa and Scott will fall Then about miscarriage - that part is just sick. She had the decision, but her partner and coaches are blamed for it.
I don't want support Gabi just because she's a woman. So much jealousy in her words about Virtue and Moir and to Cizeron. I am just heartbroken and upset that my perception of her were far from reality

This is what happens when people rush to judgement based on assumptions and not facts. I'm not criticizing you, but many posters have declared Cizeron and her former coaches to be evil when perhaps they were just being.

 

[OrioleBeagle]

It is fortunate for the French Federation that Gabby is doing the American broadcast of the Olympics and not the French. They do not need all of the controversy this close to the Olympics.

 

[Aaron MB Fan]

Has anyone in Canada been able to order the physical copy of the book yet? I assumed it would be out today with the Jan 15th publishing date. But Amazon.ca has the paperback releasing/available Feb 27th with Indigo having it available Feb 6th. Ebook is available now, but I'd rather get the paperback if I can

 

[Desperado]

Has anyone in Canada been able to order the physical copy of the book yet? I assumed it would be out today with the Jan 15th publishing date. But Amazon.ca has the paperback releasing/available Feb 27th with Indigo having it available Feb 6th. Ebook is available now, but I'd rather get the paperback if I can

Not me. The French library near me also has a Feb 6 availability.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

J

Has anyone in Canada been able to order the physical copy of the book yet? I assumed it would be out today with the Jan 15th publishing date. But Amazon.ca has the paperback releasing/available Feb 27th with Indigo having it available Feb 6th. Ebook is available now, but I'd rather get the paperback if I can

It’s probably a distribution issue. If the books were printed in Europe, they probably haven’t arrived in Canadian warehouses yet. I bought the ebook because I already own thousands of physical books. ETA: it looks like Montreal’s French bookstores have it listed for Feb 6 so the publisher must have set a different Canadian release date.

 

[Aaron MB Fan]

It’s probably a distribution issue. If the books were printed in Europe, they probably haven’t arrived in Canadian warehouses yet. I bought the ebook because I already own thousands of physical books. ETA: it looks like Montreal’s French bookstores have it listed for Feb 6 so the publisher must have set a different Canadian release date.

Might go the same route, buy the ebook and fire up the Kobo (only gets used on travel lol). Flying to Seattle for work next week so would be perfect travel reading!

 

[kwanfan1818]

Why would she have a book agent if she wasn’t planning to write a book? It may have been a different book had she not reacted to her book agent’s comments, but book agents don’t drop from the sky.

And the criticism of IAM not being a supportive environment for women goes beyond Papadakis, and reports of his narcissism have been around for years, nothing new.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Why would she have a book agent if she wasn’t planning to write a book? It may have been a different book had she not reacted to her book agent’s comments, but book agents don’t drop from the sky.

And the criticism of IAM not being a supportive environment for women goes beyond Papadakis, and reports of his narcissism have been around for years, nothing new.

It’s possible the literary agent is the same one who was attached to the PapCiz book that came out a couple of years ago.

 

[kwanfan1818]

If the book agent had know them and IAM from the previous book, they had the experience to make that comment.

 

[taz'smum]

It is fortunate for the French Federation that Gabby is doing the American broadcast of the Olympics and not the French. They do not need all of the controversy this close to the Olympics.

It was fortunate for Tiff that Gabi turned down Eurosport, as it means Tiff gets to go to the Olympics for Eurosport instead.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Too bad we Canadians can't access the Eurosport coverage. I'd love to hear Tiffany's commentary.

 

[Desperado]

Might go the same route, buy the ebook and fire up the Kobo (only gets used on travel lol). Flying to Seattle for work next week so would be perfect travel reading!

FYI - Saw the ebook on Amazon but not on Kobo.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

FYI - Saw the ebook on Amazon but not on Kobo.

It's on Kobo but you really need to dig for it using the ebook ISBN - 9782221284308. It's on Apple Books too.

 

[taz'smum]

Too bad we Canadians can't access the Eurosport coverage. I'd love to hear Tiffany's commentary.

Eurosport is on HBO sport but not sure if that is broadcast outside Europe.
I also believe Eurosport will be using her more to interview skaters than commentary as she speaks 3 languages.

 

[Xallie]

[...] 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:

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.

[...] I was just sharing Gabby's own answer to the question as to "why this book now" because that was a discussion in another thread where some people were writing, as if fact, that the book was a done deal long before certain specific events and that does not in fact seem to be the case. That was her answer, it was her agents idea and she hesitated a lot before deciding yes.

Why would she have a book agent if she wasn’t planning to write a book? It may have been a different book had she not reacted to her book agent’s comments, but book agents don’t drop from the sky.

What I remember from her Q&A was that she was approached by an editor, someone she didn't know.

I am sharing because "her agent" gives the impression that it was someone in her entourage, and the poster above then draws the conclusion that the book was an answer to Guillaume's comeback.

The word "agent" might have come from a bad translation from the Russian.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I think it's interesting who chooses to take the word of a single poster vs. who chooses to take the word of news articles that may or may not have read the book. I find neither particularly reliable, but it's human nature to believe things that confirm our own biases.

 

[AnnM]

I'm in the US and ordered it on Amazon.fr with an expected arrival of February 3.

 

[Winnipeg]

I was going to stay out of this one because I quickly realized that some people are making the assumption that the book's 'tell all' author is always right. I suggest keeping an open mind and remembering that the author is telling one side of the story and I have found that there are usually 2 sides, sometimes 3. That does not negate the one side though.

I have read a few similar type books, including the Spare, This is my Story, etc and they always have a bit of a revenge bias to them. I am NOT saying the writer is wrong or should not have written the book, I am just saying keep an open mind to all facets. I am not even saying the author is wrong in feeling that way, especially if a past partner is skating with another etc., just saying that feelings ( such as envy, betrayal, trauma, etc.) can influence expression of history.

 

[MsZem]

From what I understand, what Gabriella discusses in her book goes back to her childhood and teenage years - when Guillaume was still a child/adolescent himself. It is very likely that he was ill-equipped to handle some of the difficulties they faced together and separately, and the dynamics that fostered carried into their senior career.

 

[kwanfan1818]

That’s almost guaranteed, especially as they trained with her mother. Triangles, whether or not romantic, are usually a bad recipe except for the instigator.

 

[Skaterbob]

To me nothing that has been said or summarized about Cizeron has changed my feelings toward him. I was never a fan. If he feels the book is inaccurate I assume he is well within his rights to sue in France but it is not like people didn't already dislike him before the book came up.

 

[overedge]

@Winnipeg what you're saying assumes that somewhere there is a neutral unbiased objective history. Usually there isn't.

There are parts of history that are mostly factual (like dates). But history is a construction of the past, and it's always filtered through the memories and perceptions of those who experienced it, or those who are looking at it as outsiders.

Gabi's version of events is her version of events, that's true. But her "history" is no less valid than other versions of the same events that would be told by the other people involved.

 

[cholla]

Why would she have a book agent if she wasn’t planning to write a book?

It's net HER book agent but her editor's agent. The pre edition of the book I got was sent with a letter from the editor and signed by their "attachée de presse".

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Gabi's book is a "memoir" it's not an academic biography or a history text - it's a book about her life as a skater as she recalls it. I'll note that publishers tend not to fact-check memoirs so bear that in mind.

I haven't gotten very far into the book yet, but so far it's about her childhood and early skating experiences. The French doesn't appear to be particularly complex for any of you reading it in your 2nd or 3rd language.

 

[cholla]

It’s possible the literary agent is the same one who was attached to the PapCiz book that came out a couple of years ago.

It's not. The Papadakis/Cizeron book was published by Marabout editions and at the time Gabriella and Guillaume had a PR agent: Ninon Bardel. She's still Guillaume and Laurence's PR. Gabriella, AFAIK, has no PR agent and relies on her editor's.