Figure skating drama is already heating up in the weeks leading up to the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Former French ice dancer Gabriella Papadakis criticized her ex-partner Guillaume Cizeron in her new memoir, resulting in her firing as NBC analyst for the Olympics.
The 30-year-old released “Pour ne pas disparaître” (Indelible) on Thursday, in which she criticized her former co-workers for being “controlling, demanding” and “critical,” according to Us Weekly.
Cizeron, 31, issued a statement slamming the book as a “smear campaign” and sharing her “incomprehension and disagreement with the labels that have been attributed to me.”
“This book contains false information that I have never uttered, and which I consider to be material,” Cizeron claimed. “For more than 20 years, I have had a deep respect for Gabriela Papadakis.”
He said that “despite the gradual erosion of (their) ties,” their partnership “was built on equal cooperation and was characterized by success and mutual support.”
The childhood partners have broken 34 records during their time together and won two Olympic medals: gold in 2022 and silver in 2018.
Papadakis has worked as an analyst at NBC since retiring in December 2025, but the network called her memoir a “conflict of interest” after Cizeron’s lawyers filed a formal notice to stop “disseminating defamatory statements” about him.
She was subsequently removed from coverage of this year’s Olympics.
“I’m not coping well. I cried a lot,” Papadakis told L’Equipe (via The Associated Press) on Friday. “I was just starting my career as a commentator, so I was very disappointed. … It feels unfair.”
Cizeron, in particular, would be competing alongside his new partner, Laurence Fournier Baudry, but Papadakis claimed that “the publication date was already planned before the announcement of his return.”
Bewdley, who started working with Cizeron in January 2025, has not yet commented on the scandal.
The opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics will begin on February 6th in Italy, with the ice dancing competition also starting on the same day.
Papadakis defended his decision to criticize Cizeron in an interview with Le Temps newspaper published on Monday and translated from French.
“I wrote this book for myself, for future generations, and for all the women who have gone through the same or more experiences and don’t have access to such a platform,” she told the outlet.
“My current values do not justify remaining silent,” she added, insisting that she “did not write to make an accusation, but to explain (my) experience.”
Papadakis acknowledged his privilege as a successful skater on the platform, saying, “I’m one of the lucky ones.”
Her boyfriend Sam Williams praised the book via Instagram over the weekend.
“It takes a certain kind of courage and conviction to speak out against the kind of systemic oppression that pervades the world of figure skating, but we need more in this world,” he wrote on Saturday.
