Olympic gold medalist Gabriella Papadakis says she lost her NBC Olympic commentary job over dispute with ex partner

Olympic ice dance champion Gabriella Papadakis says she lost her commentary job with NBC for the upcoming Winter Olympics because of how her former skating partner responded to the claims she made in her new book.

In an interview with sports daily L’Équipe, the retired French skater said the decision came after Guillaume Cizeron publicly pushed back against what she wrote in “So as Not to Disappear,” which was released this week. Cizeron asked his lawyers on Tuesday to formally put all parties involved on notice to stop the “ dissemination of defamatory statements” about him.

“To my knowledge, in reaction to Guillaume filing a formal notice, which was made public, they (NBC) considered that the perception of my neutrality was compromised and that I could not commentate on the Olympic Games,” Papadakis told L’Équipe.

She did not hide how painful the decision has been. “I’m not dealing with it very well, I’ve cried a lot. I was super disappointed because I was just beginning that career as a commentator.”

The 30 year old Papadakis, who retired in December 2024, added “To lose the opportunity to start a new career is very difficult to take. I understand NBC’s position but, yes, I’m experiencing a feeling of injustice.”

In her book, Papadakis described what she said was a deeply unbalanced relationship with Cizeron, her long time ice dance partner. Together they broke the world record when they won gold at the 2022 Beijing Games. She wrote that at one point the idea of being alone with him terrified her. She described him as a “controlling” and “demanding” partner and said she sometimes felt like she was “being under his grip.”

She expanded on that dynamic in the L’Équipe interview. “As long as I took a backseat role while Guillaume was the leader, everything went well,” she said. “It’s when I wanted to be an equal in this relationship that things started to become more and more difficult.”

Their results together were historic. In addition to Olympic gold, they won Olympic silver, five world championships, five European Championships and the Grand Prix Final twice.

Cizeron has strongly denied her account. On Tuesday he said Papadakis was spreading lies about him ahead of the Feb. 6-22 Milan Cortina Winter Games. “In the face of the smear campaign targeting me, I want to express my incomprehension and my disagreement with the labels being attributed to me,” Cizeron said. “These allegations arise at a particularly sensitive time…thereby raising questions about the underlying intentions behind this campaign. “I also wish to denounce the content of the book, which contains false information attributing to me, among other things, statements I have never made and which I consider serious.” He said he had shown “deep respect” for Papadakis and that their working relationship had included “moments of success and mutual support.”

Papadakis rejected the idea that the book’s release was timed to hurt Cizeron as he prepares to return to the Olympics with new partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry. “I can understand this perception from the outside,” Papadakis said. “But the publication date was already planned before the announcement of his return (with his new skating partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry).” Fournier Beaudry previously competed for Canada and recently gained French citizenship, clearing the way for the pair to compete together, where they are expected to be among the top contenders.