Well then, gather ’round, ladies and gentlemen, as we delve into the curious case of Guy A. Lepage and his departure from X—the platform formerly known as Twitter—after the arrival of Elon Musk. I’m not saying Elon Musk is a controversial figure, but if he showed up at a family barbecue, you might find the potato salad mysteriously missing!
Lepage, in his interview with Marc Cassivi, doesn’t hold back. He says Musk wanted to charge him for the privilege of being insulted. “So you want me to pay you for abuse? No thanks!” is the gist of it. And honestly, who doesn’t want to duck out of a room where someone insists on charging you for the pleasure of getting verbally accosted? It’s like paying a cover charge at a nightclub only to find out that the DJ is just playing your most embarrassing moments on loop. Cue the cringes!
Now, Lepage, with the charm and assertiveness of a seasoned performer, points out that Musk’s new playground, X, has turned into an “open sewer.” I assume by that he means it’s less about creative expression and more about arguments over who has the bigger… ego. Honestly, stomping around in an environment rife with conspiracy theories and insults sounds less like social networking and more like a family reunion during a political election!
Lepage once thrived on that platform, trading witty barbs and engaging with a follower count that probably has more digits than my bank account after a bad night out. But now, he’s ventured onto Threads and Instagram, platforms that apparently are “less confrontational.” Because nothing says “peaceful interaction” like a perfectly filtered photo of your breakfast!
And let’s address the real kicker here: Lepage isn’t just leaving because he’s tired of the online spatting. He stands firm on principle. You see, for him, paying Musk equates to voting for someone he considers “trash.” And given Musk’s antics, that’s understandable. If I had to choose between subscribing to a “Twangy Tesla” or getting poked fun at in a social media hellscape, I’d pick the Tesla… if only to have it parked far enough away from Musk!
Now, let’s get to the juicy bits where he addresses online harassment. It’s as if he’s rolling his eyes at his critics yet winking at the absurdity of it all. Despite the negativity, Lepage shows a remarkable resilience. He sprinkles his insights with a cheeky acknowledgment that insults come with the territory of public life—a bit like having a really bad rash; you treat it, but it’s very much part of the job description. The man even admits he can locate his harassers with the quickness of a detective on a true-crime binge! "I can find you in 24 hours!" he declares. In a world where most of us struggle to locate our misplaced keys, that’s a power move!
And on the topic of threats? He shares that while they occasionally cross the line into the downright concerning territory, he seems to navigate these turbulent waters with the poise of a seasoned sailor, albeit one who always has an eye out for squalls.
What stands out is Lepage’s ability to transform the online rigmarole into something almost amusing. He candidly admits he enjoyed the sparring matches, likening them to a writing exercise. I mean, if we looked at Twitter as a twisted gym where our sarcasm and banter are high-intensity workouts, we’d all be fitness enthusiasts!
But let’s not sugarcoat everything so sweetly, ladies and gentlemen. The dark sides of social media and the vitriol that bubbles up are not to be ignored. They are like that unwanted party guest who keeps returning for more free pizza. Lepage’s discussion of the modern limits of acceptable speech is poignant. The bitterness shared online often goes beyond mere banter—it’s a culture that, quite frankly, feels like it’s breeding more negativity than positivity.
However, in the midst of this vast social media jungle, Lepage also advocates for using these platforms for good—much like a superhero emerging from a comic book. You’re an ambassador for a charitable foundation? Heroic move, Lepage! He emphasizes leveraging our social networks to shine light in perhaps the darkest corners, which is like adding a disco ball to a cave, turning negativity into something livelier—at least for a moment.
In conclusion, folks, Guy A. Lepage’s reflections on his exit from X highlight significant issues with modern social media while presenting a thought-provoking commentary wrapped in humor and personal resolve. He’s not just another voice in the noise; no, he’s the one putting on a dazzling show despite the riffraff in the audience. In the grand theater of life, I dare say, he’s the seasoned jester who knows that even the harshest of critics can’t dim the spotlight he’s earned. It’s about making that choice to step away from the chaos while still finding joy in the performance of it all. Bravo, Lepage! Now, if only we could all find that magic button to mute the madness…
Guy A. Lepage left the X network, where he was very active and responsive, upon the arrival of Elon Musk. The host of the 21st season of Everyone is talking about italso main writer and actor of the 9th season ofOne guy, one girl on Radio-Canada, discusses his relationship with social networks with our columnist Marc Cassivi.
Published at 2:03 a.m. Updated at 5:00 a.m.
Two years ago, Elon Musk became the owner of Twitter. The controversial billionaire then announced that he was going to charge users of his social network, renamed X, for the famous “blue checkmark” which was used to validate the authenticity of the accounts of public figures, often parodied.
“That’s why I left X,” Guy A. Lepage explains to me. They wanted to make me pay so that I could be insulted! It wasn’t X who was doing me a favor, it was me who was doing X a favor, like other well-known personalities, with my half a million subscribers. »
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Guy A. Lepage, in interview with our columnist
I liked Twitter, but I wasn’t going to give money to some asshole to make me sick, basically.
Guy A. Lepage
I wanted to meet the host of Everyone is talking about it alongside the dossier of my colleagues Léa Carrier and Alexandre Vigneault on the dark sides of social networks, in order to learn more about one’s own relationship with these popular platforms. Guy A. Lepage, long active and very responsive on Twitter, now prefers Threads and especially Instagram, “less confrontational” and where “a photo is worth a thousand words”, he recalls.
Since its purchase by Elon Musk, who reinstated characters as despicable as the masculinist Andrew Tate or the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, X has become an open sewer, an overflow of hatred. Musk, now an overexcited ally of Donald Trump, himself relays conspiracy theories on his network, which he criticized barely two years ago for lacking political neutrality…
Guy A. Lepage who, with his usual frankness, regularly called his most discourteous slanderers on Twitter “pathetic”, “moron”, “stupid” or “ loser no life”, did he make an X out of X because he was tired of being insulted? “It never bothered me,” he replied point blank during our interview conducted at the end of September in a Village café.
“Dany Turcotte started to become very uncomfortable at Everyone is talking about it because he was being insulted on social networks, he adds. I told him: “There are a million people watching you. These are the consequences of this popularity. It comes with it.” »
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Guy A. Lepage was very active and responsive on Twitter.
If you are not popular, there is no one who will speak against you.
Guy A. Lepage
He of course recognizes that sometimes insults on social networks cross the line. In 2011 and 2021, men were arrested and charged with making death threats against Lepage and other public figures.
“When people go too far, I make them stop, and I find it quite amusing, in fact! says the 64-year-old host, with a mocking smile. I wish it didn’t happen, but I have the means to find you in 24 hours. I know where you’re staying, what you’ve done, I’ll hand it over to the police and it’s settled. »
Independent of fortune since his show One guy, one girl was sold to be adapted all over the world, Guy A. Lepage explains that he left X first and foremost for a question of principle.
I have always found that to buy is to vote. I don’t give a penny to someone who pisses me off. Never. Under no circumstances. Elon Musk is trash, he’s an imbecile, he’s dangerous. So I don’t give him any money. I will never have a Tesla as long as he owns this company. I will never subscribe to its Starlink satellite.
Guy A. Lepage
For similar reasons, he says, he left Videotron, despite the excellent customer service of the cable company headed by Pierre Karl Péladeau. “When PKP started to disgust me on social networks, I called Videotron to unsubscribe. I was asked if I had anything to reproach them for and I replied: “No, I leave with regret!” »
He left X, on the other hand, without the slightest regret. “I never think about it,” he said. However, he spoke there almost every day, and often several times a day. Does he consider his relationship with social networks healthier since he is no longer there?
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Guy A. Lepage does not miss X at all, although he spent a dozen years writing daily on the social network.
“I don’t miss pissing off So-and-so. Writing is my means of expression. It’s never happened that someone was more sloppy than me in 140 characters and I’d be surprised if it happened. I’ve answered horrible things to people in a seven-word sentence. For me, it was like a writing exercise. Don’t try yourself against someone who has more wit than you. When someone disgusts me, there’s a part of my brain that lights up: “Oh no, he shouldn’t have! What a bad idea!” », he said with a mischievous look, rubbing his hands.
Although he admits to having undoubtedly given too much importance to his denigrators “in a sloppy and aggressive way” and that in the long term, these tough exchanges “don’t yield anything”, he does not feel that he has lost his time during his dozen years on Twitter. He made “pen friends” there who he now finds on other social networks.
It was the era of good-natured Twitter in the early 2010s, with its suggestions of accounts to follow and its nostalgic impulses. X’s algorithms now ensure that those who shout – and insult – the loudest are heard the most. “It’s a release!” Either you stop paying attention to it or you unsubscribe. We must not develop a relationship of victimization with that,” believes Guy A. Lepage, who displays unwavering confidence.
I met the host the day when, on Facebook, the host Marie-Louise Arsenault wondered, after having been called “a whore, a slut, an asshole” repeatedly on social networks, if we should “tolerate everything because we do a public job.” “No one is paid to be insulted, humiliated, belittled,” replied Véronique Cloutier. “ Welcome to my world my friend xx,” added Guy A. Lepage.
A presenter who recently told me about being threatened with rape was told by the police, after filing a complaint, that nothing could be done for her.
Violent speech, particularly against women, is now trivialized. Social media has expanded the acceptable limits of speech in a civilized society, contrary to what some would have us believe.
“Being told that you are not good in an interview, that you are dull or too heavy, that has no gender,” recalls Guy A. Lepage. But Marie-Louise, Pénélope or France Beaudoin who are called a whore or a slut, that’s what the hosts endure in addition. It comes from people projecting their own flaws onto them. They are most often women, when they are not frustrated semi-basement masturbators. Oddly enough, women are immensely supportive in groups – there isn’t a guy who is as supportive of other guys as women are – but they can be so mean to each other. If I were a girl and they called me names, Guylaine wouldn’t be happy! »
Social networks remain a parallel universe, recalls Guy A. Lepage. There is no city where he signs more autographs than Quebec, which nevertheless boasts a loudly bleating herd of sheep followers of gurus from the trash radio sect. Hateful comments from anonymous accounts, “we can’t do much about that,” believes the popular host.
What it is still possible to do, according to him, is to use social networks for the common good. “I am the ambassador of the Sainte-Justine Foundation, which recently did an advertisement in cartoons. I relayed it on my social networks and hundreds of thousands of people saw it. That’s what social media is for too. » For every dark side, there is a bright side.
Questionnaire without filter
Coffee and me: one in the morning, 49th Parallel, Old school espresso. And never coffee from a machine or percolator.
People I would like to bring to the table, dead or alive: my deceased mother and brother.
On my tombstone, I would like it to be inscribed: Come what may.
A gift I would like to have: play the guitar well. My compositions would be better, I think. My only artistic regret.
My favorite author: Marguerite Yourcenar. Memoirs of Hadrian et The black work are masterpieces.
Who is Guy A. Lepage?
- Born on August 30, 1960 in Montreal, he grew up in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district.
- A graduate in communications from UQAM in 1983, he founded the humorous group Rock et Belles Oreilles.
- He is the author and main actor, with Sylvie Léonard, of the show One guy, one girlon air on Radio-Canada from 1997 to 2003, and since 2023.
- He has hosted the show since 2004 Everyone is talking about it.
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