French Jewish DJ sues after activists disrupt gig: lawyer
A French Jewish DJ who has become embroiled in the latest cultural boycott campaign linked to Israel's war in Gaza has filed a complaint against campaigners who disrupted one of her appearances last weekend, her lawyer said Thursday.
Barbara Butch, previously best known for her controversial appearance at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, was forced off stage during a set in the eastern city of Grenoble on Saturday.
Butch filed criminal complaints in Grenoble and Paris alleging incitement to hatred and violence, assault, and obstruction of artistic freedom among other complaints, her lawyer Audrey Msellati said.
"I wouldn't wish on anyone -- not even on my worst enemy -- to feel or go through what I went through last Saturday," the 45-year-old told Franceinfo radio on Thursday morning.
Campaigners and local elected figures from the hard-left France Unbowed political party had targeted her over her decision to sign a petition in support of an abandoned attempt to widen the criminal definition of antisemitism in France.
Critics saw the proposed law as seeking to muzzle campaigners who speak out in favour of Palestinian rights and against Israel's war in Gaza.
Butch was also falsely accused of appearing at an LGBTQ Pride event in Tel Aviv last year.
The campaign against her has caused unease even among supporters of a cultural boycott of Israel and has raised questions about who is a legitimate target for such action.
"Defending the rights of the Palestinian people is an urgent, legitimate, and necessary struggle," a petition signed by 300 leading cultural figures in support of Butch said this week.
"But it cannot justify spreading unfounded accusations against a person because of their identity or supposed affiliations, or even because of their opinions."
- Boycott campaign -
Butch, a vocal campaigner for the LGBTQ community, has said she was subjected to verbal abuse as well as being targeted by objects thrown onto the stage in Grenoble.
She has said she regrets signing the petition in support of the so-called Yadan bill on antisemitism, which was withdrawn earlier this year after major protests and criticism from the United Nations.
Her cancelled concert follows protests against dissident Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid appearing at a festival in Marseille in June.
Lapid, an outspoken government critic who lives in France, withdrew from the festival as a result.
Supporters called the campaign against him an "intellectual failure" in a petition.
Butch shot to fame -- and was subject to an intense online cyberbullying campaign -- after the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
She performed alongside dancers and drag queens in a scene that was reminiscent of depictions of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus is said to have shared with his apostles.
K.Marshall--EWJ
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