Bertrand CantatFrench singer, Bertrand Cantat, who was convicted of the beating death of his girlfriend, has announced he will not be performing at any summer festivals following mounting pressure from women’s rights activists.
As reported by The Guardian, Cantat released a statement saying that he would be pulling out of Normandy’s Papillions de Nuit Festival after an online petition calling for him to be cut from the line-up garnered over 70,000 signatures.
Papillions de Nuit rejected the petition saying in a statement, "We consider that our only criteria should be artistic". This led to Cantat removing himself from the festival in order to "...bring an end to this controversy and end pressure on organisers".
The former Noir Desir frontman was convicted of killing his girlfriend, actor Marie Trintignant, in a Lithuanian hotel room in 2003 while on tour. Cantat was sentenced to eight years in prison, serving four years before being released on parole in 2007.
The singer will go ahead with his solo European tour dates to promote his upcoming album, Amor Fati.
