Breach of contract and damage to its reputation | A choreographer sues Bianca Longpré

Singer, dancer and choreographer Jessy Gauthier has filed a lawsuit for nearly $122,000 against Bianca Longpré, aka the Ordinary Mother, and her company Mouky. Among other things, he accuses him of having led a smear campaign against him. The comedian, she retorts that he had “inappropriate behavior” towards his own dancers.

Two breaches of contract, an attempt to hire the dancers of his company directly, a smear campaign directed against him and the refusal to use the mediation clause provided for in the event of a disagreement, these are some of the complaints for which Jessy Gauthier claims $121,698 in damages and lost profits.

In the twelve-page lawsuit filed earlier this month at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse, the multidisciplinary artist details the terms of the contract dated September 28, 2021 which linked his company to that of Bianca Longpré.

Jessy Gauthier Divertissements essentially agreed to “set up and choreograph” a 45-minute dance performance featuring six dancers. A lascivious “Magic Mike” performance that was to be performed as part of Bianca Longpré’s touring show Back to Reality.

The two parties agreed on an initial schedule of around ten performances, then revised this number upwards. In total, more than fifty performances were added to the first series. From November 13, 2021 to June 18, 2022, around thirty performances were therefore given, apparently without a hitch.

However, according to the facts reported in the lawsuit, on August 11, Bianca Longpré terminated the contract unilaterally, “without cause” and “without notice”.

A few days later, on August 15, François Massicotte, who is the spouse of Bianca Longpré, but who is also “shareholder, administrator and manager of Mouky”, would have contacted Jessy Gauthier to “take over the contract” for representations of autumn.

Jessy Gauthier explains, however, that during this interval of a few days, he had to release his dancers to allow them to obtain other contracts, so that from August 16, he had to hire other dancers – three out of six – teach them the choreographies, rehearse new solos, buy costumes, etc. This resulted in additional costs.

But after only two performances in September (17 and 24), Mouky again terminated the employment contract with Jessy Gauthier Divertissements on October 4.

It is from this date that Jessy Gauthier alleges that Bianca Longpré “approached the dancers who had been placed at her disposal in order to enjoin them to leave the company to directly enter into an agreement with her”. A maneuver he considers “unfair”.

According to him, a smear campaign aimed directly at him followed, “breaking the bond of trust” that bound him to his dancers. According to the court document, Bianca Longpré notably intervened with Chantal Buron, “a former business partner” of Jessy Gauthier.

Bianca Longpré assures that if she ended her collaboration with Jessy Gauthier for good, it was because she witnessed “inappropriate behavior” towards her dancers, all young men, and that she couldn’t sit idly by.

“I had a responsibility, she explains without giving more details, I could not be an accomplice. If I hear people complaining, I can’t go on. It is important to me that people are treated well, regardless of gender or origin, so I ended our collaboration. »

According to Bianca Longpré’s lawyer, Me Guillaume Charron, all the elements put forward in the lawsuit will be vigorously contested.

In the court document, Jessy Gauthier rejects the charges of “behaviour of a discriminatory and sexual nature”. “These are allegations that again damage [my] reputation and are baseless, for which there is not an iota of evidence. “The artist specifies that at no time, before the sending of the formal notice (in the month of January,) was he made these reproaches.