Home » News » On the verge of tears, he apologizes for having “bullied” a journalist

On the verge of tears, he apologizes for having “bullied” a journalist

At the heart of a storm for two days, one of the two individuals who against his will embraced a TVA journalist during an anti-mask demonstration in Quebec “apologizes” and says he is shaken, but ensures that he did not want to “bully” the reporter.

• Read also: Intimidation of journalists denounced

It is a man in shock and on the verge of tears that The newspaper met at his home yesterday at the end of the day.

Sunday noon, while journalist Kariane Bourassa was live, Jean-François Mongrain, accompanied by another man, approached the woman to give her a hug. The two men did not wear a mask and did not respect physical distancing.

“Brotherhood hug”

The gesture, described as aggression by many, has been widely condemned in recent days, in particular by the Deputy Premier of Quebec, Geneviève Guilbault, who deemed the gesture “unacceptable”.

Mr. Mongrain says he would never have believed that what he calls a “fraternity hug” was going to cause such a stir.

Shortly before the events, the father claims to have first “defended” the journalist in front of some demonstrators who were aggressive towards the media. “We had just experienced a moment of aggression,” explains Mr. Mongrain.

It was then that the two men spontaneously went to the journalist who was working to give him a “hug of fraternity”. Jean-François Mongrain ensures that he does not know the identity of the second character.

The newspaper was not able to confirm the identity of the other man, who is believed to be living outside Quebec.

For his part, Jean-François Mongrain works at the Ministry of Transport. The employer, who “does not endorse the behavior of the demonstrator”, has met with his employee and is assessing the possibility of imposing administrative measures against him.

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Jean-François Mongrain (left)

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Screenshot, TVA News

Jean-François Mongrain (left)



A gesture of “good faith”

Jean-François Mongrain assures us that it was immediately a gesture of “good faith”. “I was not there to taunt her, it was a gesture of brotherhood, he repeats, I did not want it to annoy. It got angry, I apologized, I assumed. “

He now understands that this was an inappropriate gesture. “I apologize, seriously. I didn’t want to bully her, I wanted to bully nobody. “

He also says he is sensitive to the wave of denunciations that is currently taking place in Quebec and understands that his gesture, mixed with the rules of distancing, provoked all these reactions.

“With the denunciations, we agree that what would have been banal before, now, is no, we are made fragile on that, it’s not just COVID. “

The man has received several threats over the past few hours. “My guy calls me: daddy, what’s going on? He said with a tear in his eye.

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