Former L’Impératrice singer Flore Benguigui has opened up about her exit from the band saying “there were so many things I agreed to for fear of being kicked out.”
Back in September, an Instagram post revealed that Benguigui was leaving the band. In the statement, she wrote: “This decision isn’t sudden or light-hearted but comes from a very long and difficult time of reflection.”
She continued: “In late May 2024, I told the band that I couldn’t go on. That I would handle the album release and the festival tour that had already begun, that it was physically and psychologically impossible for me to carry on playing around the world with them afterwards, even though it meant I wouldn’t be able to properly say goodbye to the fans on stage which broke my heart. At that stage, I had already sounded the alarm a few times about my state.
“Leaving this project in which I have put all my soul and energy for nine years seems to be the only way for me to protect my physical and mental health that have been seriously mistreated for the past few years,” the musician claimed.
She went on to allege that “profound personal, artistic and fundamental disagreements between the other members of the band and me made harmonious and healthy collaboration harder and harder, and now impossible.”
She continued: “It’s also the whole industry that I’m questioning today with this choice, this music industry is so toxic and unfair especially towards women, towards victims, towards mental health, towards those that seem too fragile for this job. I no longer want to be a part of a system that, even in an independent world, would rather capitalise on artists’ sensitivity in an attempt to win a blind and frantic race to success, instead of taking real care of it.
“Our extreme sensitivity is sometimes a burden, but is also our creative strength. And it’s for the sake of my sensitivity that I’m giving up my career as a singer in this band.”
You can see the post in full here, with its English version from slide seven onwards:
In a new interview with MediaPart, Benguigui has gone on to open up further about her reasons for leaving the band, saying that things started to change when they began performing live claiming she was pressurised to “sing loudly” over loud instruments despite her voice being naturally more “quieter”, something that fundamentally “altered” the state of her voice.
She claims the band never adapted the instrumentation to suit her voice and that she was asked to attend multiple classes, something that resulted in her losing “all self confidence.”
Benguigui went on to claim she was “mistreated” in the band adding “I felt like they could kick me out at any time, so I tried my best to become indispensable. There are so many things I agreed to for fear of being kicked out,” which, she continued, included managing all of the band’s social media, and even washing and ironing everyone’s stage outfits – in order to “secure her place in the band” which she claims always felt under threat.
“In truth, I was constantly being controlled especially by two of the band members and the manager, who is the band’s label and editor,” she alleged. “Even when I spoke on stage, everything had to be approved by the band members. My social media as well. I’ve already been asked to delete content on my personal social media.”
On being asked to define what she went through, Benguigui said: “It alternated between what we call love-bombing when two of the band’s members would buy me tons of gifts…they would praise me, especially in front of other people and suddenly they would belittle me, humiliate me. Sometimes they would start screaming at me in front of the other band members,” something she claims would happen “often” and one time resulted in her being threatened “physically.”
Benguigui went on to say she lost her voice for a year and a half, something that resulted in her suffering from anxiety and depression.
Benguigui said in terms of #MeToo and the music industry, little has changed. “Sexism is so deeply rooted, so powerful that the way women are seen in this industry has barely changed, even in a band where you think people are open-minded – where they sing feminist songs throughout the world…it turns out things are much more complicated.”
In a statement (via MediaPart), L’Impératrice say they recognise the “seriousness” of the “facts and feelings shared by Flore.”
They said: “While we were a band, united for nine years, we are saddened by this situation, to have to respond to Flore through the press. She still means a great deal to us, and we know how much the band owes her, both artistically and personally.
“But the situations described by Flore do not correspond to the facts,” they went on to allege.
They went on to claim that “there was never any control over what she said. On the contrary, Flore has always expressed herself freely about her personal projects and the causes she defends, notably through her personal networks.
As far as the band’s statements are concerned, it was decided from the outset that decisions would be taken in a collegial and concerted manner. As far as the recording of the album, the launch of the tour and promotion are concerned, Flore has reaffirmed her determination to continue at each stage.
“Finally, since the [first] concert in 2015, the ‘live’ treatment of the vocals has been a collectively validated artistic decision, which has never called into question her qualities as a singer, composer and performer, nor her place in the band.
“When Flore informed us of her decision to leave the band, we agreed to continue our exchanges within a constructive and mutually beneficial framework, with a shared desire to respect the future shape of L’Impératrice. We immediately respected [this] decision, regardless of the implications for the future of the project.
“We wanted to continue the adventure of L’Impératrice, because we had to be there for the public and, above all, because our project and desire were still there, despite the ordeal of Flore’s departure. L’Impératrice was an instrumental band, but Flore gave it a voice, and we want to keep that legacy alive.
“If the investment and attention we gave her weren’t enough, we can only regret it. In any case, we wish her all the best for the future.”
NME has reached out to L’Impératrice for comment on the specific allegations raised by Benguigui.
