Cyril Valéry Isaac Hanouna (French pronunciation: [siʁil valeʁi izak anuna]; Arabic: سيريل فاليري إسحاق حنونة; born 23 September 1974) is a French radio and television presenter, writer, author, columnist, producer, singer and occasional actor and comedian of Tunisian origin. He hosts the French TV show Touche pas à mon poste.

Cyril Hanouna
Cyril Hanouna at the studios of Europe 1
Born
Cyril Valéry Isaac Hanouna

(1974-09-23) 23 September 1974 (age 50)
Paris, France
NationalityFrench & Tunisian
Other namesLe bouffon devenu roi, Baba
Occupation(s)Broadcaster, writer, actor, comedian, singer
Known forTouche pas à mon poste !

Early life

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Hanouna was born into a Jewish family, the son of a general practitioner and a clothing shopkeeper who had both arrived in France from Tunis in 1969. Like his father, Hanouna first chose medical studies.[1] Having experienced academic difficulties in high school, he decided to study management with the goal of becoming a certified accountant, but later abandoned his studies.[2]

Career

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Highlights

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Hanouna made his television debut in 1999 on the TV channel Comédie+, where he composed the texts for its trailers. Hanouna became a television presenter in 2002 when he co-hosted the third series of La Grosse Émission alongside the comedy duo Kad et Olivier. In February 2002 he was approached by RTL Radio[3] and he hosted a radio show called Planet Arthur[4] alongside Manu Levy and Valérie Bénaïm. In 2003 he hosted the morning show Morning Live[5] on M6.

Since 2008, Hanouna has been associated with the Eurovision Song Contest. At the 2008 contest, he presented the French tele-votes and provided the French commentary for the 2009 and 2010 contests alongside Julien Courbet and Stéphane Bern.[3]

Currently, Hanouna is affiliated with Europe 1 TV and a host of its program Touche Pas à Mon Poste. Until 2012, it was seen on France 4 before moving with its entire production team to D8 with a 7 October launch.[6] The channel also bought the rights for Nouvelle Star, the French version of the Pop Idol series, and Hanouna became its regular host. In 2011, he acted in the third installment of La Vérité si je mens !.[7]

Hanouna is presently the producer of his own entertainment company, H2O Productions, where he works on some of the most popular TV shows on France's channel C8 (as D8 has been renamed). He is also active on almost all TV channels owned by Vincent Bolloré (Direct 8, Direct Star and Canal+). In 2015 Bolloré spent 250 million euros to retain Hanouna.[8]

In 2019, and in reaction to the French yellow vests movement, Hanouna proposed a television show to be co-hosted by a French politician that would seek to address the everyday concerns of French citizens.[9]

On 12 November 2023, he took part in the March for the Republic and Against Antisemitism in Paris in response to the rise of anti-Semitism in France since the start of the Israel–Hamas war.[10]

Controversies

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Cyril Hanouna has often received satirical awards from Gérards de la Télévision: Industrial Mistake Award 2007, Worst Presenter 2013 and 2014, The Presenter Who Doesn't Need Drugs 2016.[11] In February 2016, he was drawn by Charlie Hebdo as a mosquito sucking out children's brains.[12]

He is described as an annoying clown, switching from hysterical chuckles to vulgarities, and is involved in several affairs such as offering non-existent gifts,[13] ripping a book during a broadcast,[14] humiliating journalists and collaborators and making sexist and homophobic jokes.[15][16] In February 2016 French journalists Julien Cazarre and Arnaud Ramsay reported that they received threats from Hanouna when they refused to appear on his show.[17] Society magazine compiled a long report about him, describing him as "tyrannical, pretentious, full of anger," managing his team with "unscrupulous practices, temper tantrums, and threats", based on anonymous reports by colleagues.[18] Stéphane Guillon, another Canal+ presenter, describes Hanouna as the "Kim Jong-Il of C8".[19]

In November and December 2016, the Superior Council of Audiovisual launched two administrative procedures against Touche Pas a Mon Poste because of frequent humiliations and sexist and homophobic statements during the broadcast.[20] In one segment of the show, Hanouna posted a fake gay dating profile online using a torso picture of gay model Max Emerson and mocked the men who responded to the profile while he was live on air. The segment triggered nearly 20,000 complaints to regulators and condemnation from LGBT groups.[21][22]

In December 2016, the French association of LGBT journalists counted 42 sexist and homophobic jokes, and describes him as an unapologetic promoter of homophobia.[23]

Political Influence

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Placard against "Macronism", notably mentioning Hanouna, held by a Yellow Vest at Place de la Bastille in Paris (January 26, 2019)

Several journalists have noted the proximity between Cyril Hanouna and the government of Emmanuel Macron, with close associates of the president regularly appearing on the show Touche pas à mon poste. France Inter journalist Sonia Devillers places Cyril Hanouna within the “media arm of Macronism”.[24][25]

Several media outlets analyzed the political orientation of his show starting in 2021 in the run-up to the 2022 French presidential election: the far-right becomes the most represented political trend on the set, with the invitation of particularly radical figures without any opposing viewpoints.[26] The announcement of Éric Zemmour's candidacy thus transforms the show, according to CNRS researcher Claire Sécail, into a platform serving the far-right candidate, who accumulates more than 40% of the show's political airtime (ahead of Emmanuel Macron at 25%, followed by Marine Le Pen).[27] The far-right as a whole (Zemmour, Le Pen, Philippot, Dupont-Aignan) even holds a majority with 51.1% of the total airtime.[28] Zemmour appeared on his new show Face à Baba,[29] where he interviews a political candidate, on December 16, 2021, despite Hanouna having stated a few years earlier that he would never host him.[30]

In June 2024, during the early legislative elections, Hanouna hosted a two-week show on Europe 1, owned by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, dedicated to commentary on the ongoing campaign.[31] Titled On marche sur la tête (We're in over our heads), the show receives a warning from the ARCOM, reminding the station of its obligation to "treat electoral news with restraint and honesty" and the need to comply with "the requirement of pluralism in information as it follows".[32] Indeed, many observers noted the political asymmetry in the invited personalities and the overrepresentation of the far-right, with the first episode featuring Béziers Mayor Robert Ménard, former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, National Rally MEP Matthieu Valet, and Reconquête! President Éric Zemmour.[32]

Discography

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Singles

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Year Album Peak positions Certification
FR
[33]
2015 "Bogda Bogdanov" 34
2016 "Petit Baba Noel" 2

Filmography

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Radio

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References

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  1. ^ (in French) [Interview de Cyril Hanouna dans l'émission Il n'y a pas qu'une vie dans la vie sur Europe 1, 5 mai 2013]
  2. ^ "FR Archives" (in French). lunion.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b (in French) Career of Cyril Hanouna Archived 22 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, agenceartistiques.com
  4. ^ (in French) Rire & Chansons, une nouvelle matinale Archived 29 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, radioactu.com
  5. ^ (in French) Cyril Hanouna, le commando du matin Archived 21 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, ladepeche.fr
  6. ^ (in French) Official Website of Touche pas à mon poste Archived 22 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine, d8.tv
  7. ^ (in French) Cyril Hanouna at cast of La Vérité si je mens ! 3 Archived 21 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Première.fr.
  8. ^ (in French) Vincent Bolloré débourse 250 millions d’euros pour garder Cyril Hanouna sur D8, Lemonde.fr.
  9. ^ (in French) https://www.lemonde.fr/actualite-medias/article/2019/01/26/et-hanouna-se-transforma-en-journaliste-politique_5414789_3236.html
  10. ^ Bajos, Par Sandrine; Balle, Catherine; Bérard, Christophe; Berrod, Nicolas; Bureau, Éric; Choulet, Frédéric; Collet, Emeline; Souza, Pascale De; Doukhan, David (11 November 2023). "Marche contre l'antisémitisme : François Hollande, Marylise Léon, Agnès Jaoui... pourquoi ils s'engagent". leparisien.fr (in French). {{cite web}}: |last5= has generic name (help)
  11. ^ (in French) Gérard de la télévision - List of prizewinners 2016 Archived 13 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Lefigaro.fr.
  12. ^ (in French) «Le virus qui rend con» : Charlie Hebdo se paie Cyril Hanouna Archived 19 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Ladepeche.fr.
  13. ^ (in French) Quand Touche Pas a Mon Poste ne fait pas de cadeaux Archived 25 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, nouvelobs.com.
  14. ^ (in French) Kendji Girac approuve Cyril Hanouna, qui avait déchiré sa biographie en direct sur D8, 20minutes.fr.
  15. ^ (in French) Touche pas à mon poste : il fallait mieux le rater Archived 2 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Lefigaro.fr.
  16. ^ (in French) Cyril Hanouna se chope le melon Archived 13 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Rtl.be.
  17. ^ (in French) Affaire Cyril Hanouna : la plainte de Julien Cazarre classée, Arnaud Ramsay toujours blacklisté Archived 16 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Lefigaro.fr.
  18. ^ (in French) Pratiques scabreuses, colères, menaces: l'enquête à charge qui dézingue Hanouna Archived 1 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Lefigaro.fr.
  19. ^ (in French) Stéphane Guillon dénonce les «méthodes mafieuses» de Cyril Hanouna, Leparisien.fr.
  20. ^ (in French) Le CSA engage une procédure de sanction contre C8 et « Touche pas à mon poste », Lemonde.fr.
  21. ^ "Cyril Hanouna: French host humiliated gay men on live TV". BBC News. 22 May 2017. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  22. ^ Wong, Curtis M. (24 May 2017). "French TV Host Plays Cruel Joke On Gay Men And Sparks Global Backlash". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  23. ^ (in French) ‘’TPMP’’ en novembre : un mois d'homophobie ordinaire Archived 21 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Lepoint.fr.
  24. ^ "Hanouna, la macronie par excellence ?". www.franceinter.fr. 20 May 2021.
  25. ^ Coignard, Sophie (21 May 2021). "Hanouna, ministre sans portefeuille". Le Point.
  26. ^ Oberti, Valentine; Bérénice, Gabriel (28 October 2021). "Claire Sécail : « Oui, "Touche pas à mon poste !" banalise l'extrêm..." Mediapart. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  27. ^ Cyprien Caddeo (1 February 2022). "Médias. Cyril Hanouna, le bouffon au service de l'extrême droite". humanite.fr.
  28. ^ Romain Herreros (1 February 2022). "Chez Cyril Hanouna sur C8, 53% du temps politique est consacré à l'extrême droite". huffingtonpost.fr.
  29. ^ TVProgramme.fr (17 December 2021). "Audiences TV du 16 décembre 2021 : « Face à Baba » sur C8 plus fort que France 2". tvprogramme.fr.
  30. ^ Claire Sécail (25 October 2021). "TPMP au service d'Éric Zemmour ?". ACRIMED.org..
  31. ^ "Cyril Hanouna va animer une émission quotidienne sur les législatives sur Europe 1, média de Vincent Bolloré". Le Monde.fr (in French). 15 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  32. ^ a b ""We walk on our heads": Cyril Hanouna's show called to order by Arcom". Télérama (in French). 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  33. ^ "Cyril Hanouna discography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
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