Guillaume Bats died at the age of 36 on Thursday, his production company, Dark Smile Productions, announced on the French comedian’s Facebook page.
“It is with the deepest sadness that we announce the death this Thursday, June 1st of Guillaume Bats, our great friend and brother of heart and stage“, writes Dark Smile Productions, “the event being recent we do not yet have all the details relating to his funeral, and do not yet know the cause of this tragic event (…) We do not have the words but a huge void is already present in our hearts“.
The comedian Jérémy Ferrari provided details later, indicating that he himself had discovered Guillaume Bats in his bed, “probably died in his sleep”.
Suffering from brittle bone disease
Guillaume Bats was suffering from brittle bone disease and was currently presenting his new one man show, “Inchallah”, all over France. Born in Reims in 1987, Guillaume Bats had revealed a difficult life course: abandoned by his mother before his first birthday, he had spent a large part of his childhood between an orphanage and foster families.
According to the site Dark Smile Productions, the artist began to develop sketches in the late 2000s before being noticed for his caustic humor on the Internet and in television shows, such as “On de demande qu’à en rire by Laurent Ruquier.
Produced by Jérémy Ferrari and Eric Antoine, Guillaume Bats has toured several times in France, notably performing at the 2016 and 2017 editions of the Festival Off d’Avignon.
Guillaume Bats – “Come as you are!”
On Twitter, Geneviève Darrieussecq, Minister Delegate for People with Disabilities, expressed her “deep sadness” and praised “his generosity and humor” with which “he was able to make generations of our compatriots laugh, while bringing a another look at disability”.
The French Paralympic and Sports Committee wrote on Twitter: “Guillaume Bats was a master of humor and derision. By making us laugh, he overturned certainties and prejudices and had conquered the scene of French laughter. we will miss him.”
Former wheelchair tennis world number 1, Paralympic champion, and 2016 Rio Olympics flag bearer Michael Jeremiasz tweets his sadness “to learn of the death of the excellent Guillaume Bats who spoke with humor and generosity of another voice on disability“.
“We told you ‘It’s impossible. Finally look at yourself. You made it“, writes humorist Anne Roumanoff. “You made whole rooms laugh. Self-mockery and black humor so as not to cry. You have helped thousands of people to accept themselves. Goodbye Guillaume Bats.“