Olympian Guillaume Cizeron Accuses Ex Ice Dance Partner of ‘Smear Campaign’ Against Him

Guillaume Cizeron, a French ice dancer who was once partnered with Gabriella Papadakis, claims that she has orchestrated a smear campaign against him.

According to a Tuesday, January 13, report in the Associated Press, the 31-year-old skater — who is now partnered with Laurence Fournier Beaudry — believes that Papadakis’ new book Pour ne pas disparaître (translated to So as Not to Disappear) makes false statements about him.

Excerpts of the book (out Thursday, January 15) were released by French media, the AP reported, and claimed that Cizeron was “controlling” and “demanding” throughout their partnership on the ice.

Papadakis, 30, reportedly wrote in the book that she didn’t want to be alone with Cizeron and felt that she lived “under his grip.”

Cizeron feels that the timing of the allegations is suspicious, given that the 2026 Winter Olympics will kick off on February 6. (He took home gold with Papadakis at the Beijing Games.)

“In the face of the smear campaign targeting me, I want to express my incomprehension and my disagreement with the labels being attributed to me,” Cizeron said in a statement, per the AP.

“These allegations arise at a particularly sensitive time… thereby raising questions about the underlying intentions behind this campaign,” he continued. “I also wish to denounce the content of the book, which contains false information, attributing to me, among other things, statements I have never made and which I consider serious.”

Cizeron has asked his lawyers “to formally put all parties involved on notice to immediately cease the dissemination of defamatory statements about me.”

He added that he has “shown deep respect for Gabriella Papadakis, whom I have always regarded as a true partner,” despite a “gradual erosion of our bond over the years.”

In March, he announced his new partnership with Fournier Beaudry on Instagram, comparing it to “two stars destined to shine in the same sky.”