Celine Dion fans slam French paper after claims triumphant performance at Paris Olympics was ‘pre-recorded’
Celine Dion’s fans are on fire over a report in a French newspaper alleging the chanteuse lip-synched to a pre-recorded track at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
The claims surfaced Friday, Oct. 11, one day after Dion, 56, released a single of her Olympics performance — “Hymne à l’amour – Live from the Olympic Games Paris 2024” — on streaming platforms. The song was made famous by famed French singer Édith Piaf.
Daily newspaper Libération leveled the charge in an article titled, “Did Celine Dion lip-sync during the Olympic opening ceremony?” The outlet cited multiple music industry professionals who alleged her performance was “without a shadow of a doubt” pre-recorded.
“What we heard on TV was a corrected playback,” composer and performer Etienne Guéreau alleged to Libération.
“It was 100% playback, you can hear it from the first notes,” claimed a sound engineer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
But fans of the “My Heart Will Go On” singer were infuriated by the report.
“You don’t have more important information to repeat?” one Dion supporter asked on X, formerly known as Twitter. “What is this need to tarnish, to denigrate? We don’t care! You won’t take away the emotion we felt at that moment. Celine Dion’s vocal performance is admirable regardless.”
“WE DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR CONTROVERSIES! Congratulations to Celine Dion for her performance!” someone else wrote.
Others said that if the Grammy winner’s performance did turn out to be pre-recorded, they wouldn’t care.
“Who cares — she was great either way,” one fan commented.
Another referred to Dion’s recent health struggles, writing, “She’s sick. Let her lip sync.”
The Post has reached out to a representative for Dion.
The singer’s performance at the Eiffel Tower was a triumphant return to the world stage for the star, who less than two years ago shared that she had been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, an incurable and painful neurological disorder that causes muscles to stiffen and spasm.
Many fans wondered if Dion would perform again. But she has expressed a determination not to let the disease end her career.
“Oh, I’ll sing again,” she told CBC in April. “I’ll sing again. That’s for sure.”
“If I can’t run, I’ll walk. If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl,” Dion says in the recent documentary “I Am: Celine Dion.” “I won’t stop.”
