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Paris Court Convicts Four Over Online Abuse of DJ Barbara Butch After Olympics

The ruling underscores a tougher judicial stance on post‑Olympics digital harassment with custodial penalties.

Overview

  • Judges handed down sentences ranging from four months suspended to a ten‑month prison term deemed non‑amendable for particularly grave acts.
  • A fifth defendant was acquitted after the court found the legal elements of the offenses were not established in his case.
  • The abuse followed the July 26, 2024 opening ceremony tableau later portrayed by critics as a blasphemous parody, with messages including explicit insults and threats.
  • Barbara Butch testified in September that the harassment caused insomnia, nightmares, agoraphobia, psoriasis, weight gain, and the need for antidepressants.
  • The case reflects a broader pattern of online attacks on ceremony artists, with seven people convicted in May over messages to director Thomas Jolly, and Paris recently flagging a new campaign targeting Butch after her October 1 appointment to lead Nuit Blanche 2026.