LGBTQ+ Icon Bilal Hassani’s Magazine Cover Censored by French Transit Agencies

Bilal Hassani, the singer and Youtuber, and finalist of the TV show "Dancing with the Stars", was elected personality of the year 2021 by this magazine. But the photo chosen by Bilal to grace the cover did not please the SNCF and the RATP. On the poster, we see the young man in a posture reminiscent of that of a Christian icon, his eyes fixed on the sky, reports Ouest France.

The image disturbs Mediatransports, the company in charge of advertising content for the SNCF and the RATP. "In our contracts with transport operators and in this case the SNCF and the RATP, it is impossible for us to display visuals where religious references are present," said a manager of the company on the Arrêt sur images website.

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Faced with the many criticisms recorded on Twitter about the photo, the editor-in-chief of Têtu finally explains himself in the columns of Charlie Hebdo. "We see a great confusion, with many accounts (on social networks) who sincerely thought that we did not have the right to represent Mary or Jesus in the Christian religion," pointed out Thomas Vampouille.

The editor-in-chief of Têtu confirmed his remarks on Wednesday, in Cyril Hanouna’s Touche pas à mon poste show on C8. "The idea is to build bridges between people. We are not at all there to divide believers from non-believers, gays from non-gays. Bilal, precisely, that’s what he embodies," he explained.