The Cabaret Vert festival in Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes) announced on Wednesday that it was canceling the concert scheduled for August 17 by rapper Lomepal, under investigation for rape. “Le Cabaret Vert cannot remain indifferent to the emotions aroused by this complaint and this, in accordance with its values”, can we read in a press release issued by the organizers of the festival, organized this year from August 16 to 20.
Although the presumption of innocence is “a fundamental principle”, “the organization of the festival believes that a time of hindsight and silence is necessary”, continues the press release. “The priority is to let Justice do its job.” The 31-year-old rapper – Antoine Valentinelli by his real name – is the subject of a preliminary investigation for rape after a complaint filed in 2020 for events that occurred in 2017 abroad, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Ready to “answer justice”
After the confirmation on Thursday of the opening of this investigation, Lomepal denied the accusations against him and said he was ready to “respond to justice”. The rapper performed on the stage of the Electronic Beaches festival in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes) on Sunday, despite calls for the cancellation of this concert, the first since the confirmation of the opening of the investigation.
Combining music, comics, cinema and conferences, the Le Cabaret Vert festival in Charleville-Mézières has multiplied its attendance by 10 since its launch in 2005, to exceed 100,000 spectators. This year it welcomes, among others, Christine and the Queens and Juliette Armanet.