The quenelle gesture has stirred significant debate in recent weeks, but Lilian Thuram, the former French football champion and a prominent voice on social issues, claims ignorance about it. In an interview with La Provence, Thuram expressed his opinion on the gesture made by WBA striker Nicolas Anelka in December.
Despite being unaware of the gesture’s existence, Thuram emphasized the danger of using humor to trivialize controversial opinions. He stated, “Honestly, I was on vacation in the West Indies when it happened, and I didn’t even know about it. And honestly, before all this, I didn’t even know the existence of this quenelle gesture… I think that we cannot laugh at everything because humor is the best way to propagate racist theories, and this is how prejudices remain anchored. The proof is that every time someone is accused of racism, sexism, homophobia, it ends with: oh, I was just kidding.” Thuram’s comments highlight the need to address sensitive topics with seriousness and sensitivity, rather than using humor as a shield for harmful beliefs.
