Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
“Thank The French Judge”: Ice Skater Speaks After Accusations Of Cheating To Beat US In The Olympics
After seemingly taking the “silence is golden” route for a while, French ice dancer Laurence Fournier Beaudry finally broke her silence on social media.
Fournier Beaudry and her partner Guillaume Cizeron were controversially crowned gold medalists at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics for their performance on the ice.
Their scores were heavily scrutinized after narrowly beating the American duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
RELATED:
Highlights
- French ice dancer Laurence Fournier Beaudry reportedly broke her silence on social media.
- She and her partner Guillaume Cizeron were controversially crowned gold medalists at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics for their performance on the ice.
- The controversy led to netizens expressing outrage, saying: “USA was robbed.”
French ice dancer Laurence Fournier Beaudry finally broke her silence on social media
Image credits: Robert Gauthier / Getty Images
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won gold in the ice dance competition at Milan-Cortina 2026, narrowly beating the American duo and reigning three-time world champions, Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
Many felt the French pair’s routine had several mistakes, while their American counterparts’ performance was seen as nearly perfect.
Yet, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron took the top spot on the podium with a total score of 225.82 points. Husband-and-wife Chock and Bates settled for the silver medal after scoring 224.39.
Image credits: TNT Sports
Many scrutinized the scores and accused a French judge of favoring Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron by giving them almost eight points more in their free dance than the American team.
Five of the nine judges favored the American couple, and the other three judges gave more points to the French duo by a slim margin.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won gold at Milan-Cortina 2026, narrowly beating the American duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates
Image credits: laurencefournierbeaudry
Fournier Beaudry mostly stayed quiet on Instagram following the win, but she broke her social media silence at night on Thursday, February 12.
She shared a series of Instagram Stories, featuring her media appearances with her ice dancer partner.
“Guillaume is the best,” she said on social media, as quoted by Newsweek.
Image credits: laurencefournierbeaudry
“From the start, when we started skating together, I knew he was the best ice dancer in the world,” she continued. “He brought me so much confidence throughout the season, and that confidence probably helped us achieve what we did.”
The partnership between Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron is less than a year old.
They announced their professional pairing in March, 2025, with an Instagram post.
The partnership between Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron is less than a year old
Image credits: Mattia Martegani/Getty Images
Immediately after winning gold this week, Fournier Beaudry said she had a “hard time” believing the result.
“It just feels so amazing to just look back at where we started and where we are now and everything we accomplished together this year,” she told Olympics.com‘s Nick McCarvel soon after the victory. “We’re living the dream right now.”
Image credits: laurencefournierbeaudry
The French pair have both been in the limelight for a while.
Fournier Beaudry’s ex-boyfriend and former skating partner, Nikolaj Sørensen, had received a minimum six-year ban in 2024 after facing accusations of s**ually as**ulting an American figure skating coach and former skater in 2012.
A technicality led to the suspension being overturned last June. Meanwhile, Fournier Beaudry vocally defended him on different occasions.
Cizeron, on the other hand, was also accused by his former partner, Gabriella Papadakis, of being “controlling” and “demanding.”
He accused Papadakis of sharing “false” claims, calling them defamatory and a “smear campaign.”
The International Skating Union addressed the outrage that included netizens claiming, “USA was robbed”
Image credits: teamusa
Following the outrage over Wednesday’s ice dancing competition, the International Skating Union, the sport’s governing body, said they were confident in the final scores.
“It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations,” a spokesperson for the body said.
“The ISU has full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness,” they added.
Image credits: Tim Clayton/Getty Images
Chock spoke about how she and her husband gave their “best” during the performance and found the outcome “bittersweet.”
“It’s definitely a little bittersweet because we are so, so happy with how we performed this week,” she said. “We really gave it our all, and I wouldn’t change anything about how we approached each performance, what we delivered in each performance. We really gave it our best.”
Evan Bates spoke about wanting to go “off the rails” as they settled for silver
View this post on Instagram
Meanwhile, Bates acknowledged the subjective element of the sport.
“I feel like life is sometimes you can feel like you do everything right and it doesn’t go your way, and that’s life and that’s sport,” he said. “And it’s a subjective sport. It’s a judged sport.”
Image credits: TNT Sports
After their gruelling training, Bates admitted he was ready to go “off the rails” and indulge in some habits he staved off for a while.
“We have been so dialed-in and preparing for these moments. And honestly, the first thing I did today was have a coffee, because I haven’t had coffee in, like, a month,” he said following their victory.
“So I think just going off the rails a little bit and having some junk food and staying up late is definitely what I want to do,” he added.
“Stuff like this happens in every Olympics,” one wrote online
Image credits: isufigureskating
Netizens fuelled the controversy with their comments, saying: “USA was robbed.”
“Biased judging,” one said.
Another wrote, “While many of us are disappointed Maddie and Evan didn’t win, to hate on this team is uncalled for. They did not judge themselves, the judges did.”
“Thank the French judge for that,” one commented online
Poll Question
Total votes ·
Thanks! Check out the results:
Total votes ·
Newsletter
Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls
By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!
What do you think ?
martin734 3 weeks ago (edited)
Oh look, more Americans screaming fraud when votes don't go their way. In all international ice skating competitions the highest and lowest judges scores are discarded from the final total, so even if the French judges did over or under score, their scores would not have been included in the final total. I genuinely thought that both pairs were technically superb but the French pair were slightly ahead in terms of artistry and musicality. I preferred watching the French pair over the American pair.
Gaius214 3 weeks ago
While the scoring rule of dropping the highs & lows is relevant. It's the swings of some of the judges on these 2 pairs that is noteworthy. Especially when compared to other competitors. There is a significant history in the Olympics of score "swapping" by judges. So, this situation is worthy of analysis & discussion...without the hysterics or denigrating either country or its people.
Load More Replies...
Andrew Keir 3 weeks ago
Use of the phrase "we were robbed" is limited to Scottish fans after any match with England. Please don't steal our self-justifications.
Wat Tyler's Revenge 3 weeks ago
None of that yesterday! You come to Scotland, you're getting battered!
Load More Replies... martin734 3 weeks ago (edited)
Oh look, more Americans screaming fraud when votes don't go their way. In all international ice skating competitions the highest and lowest judges scores are discarded from the final total, so even if the French judges did over or under score, their scores would not have been included in the final total. I genuinely thought that both pairs were technically superb but the French pair were slightly ahead in terms of artistry and musicality. I preferred watching the French pair over the American pair.
Gaius214 3 weeks ago
While the scoring rule of dropping the highs & lows is relevant. It's the swings of some of the judges on these 2 pairs that is noteworthy. Especially when compared to other competitors. There is a significant history in the Olympics of score "swapping" by judges. So, this situation is worthy of analysis & discussion...without the hysterics or denigrating either country or its people.
Load More Replies... Andrew Keir 3 weeks ago
Use of the phrase "we were robbed" is limited to Scottish fans after any match with England. Please don't steal our self-justifications.
Wat Tyler's Revenge 3 weeks ago
None of that yesterday! You come to Scotland, you're getting battered!
Load More Replies... You May Like Olympian Makes Stunning Admission After Judge's Conspicuous Scores Ignite Cheating Accusations The 20 Wildest Most Bizarre Moments Of The 2026 Winter Olympics (So Far) Fans Accuse Olympics Figure Skating Judges Of Sabotaging Team USA With "Suspicious Scoring"
Gabija Saveiskyte
Karina Babenok
Lei RV
Related on Bored Panda
15
14