Yuz boy, the winner of Netflix's 'New School' rap competition, accused of rape

While the season 2 finale of New School aired Wednesday night on Netflix, BFMTV has just revealed that a rape complaint filed in August 2022 targets the winner, Yuz Boy. The rap contest, whose second season was launched on May 17, sees 24 candidates compete against a jury made up of famous rappers Niska, SCH and Shay, with 100,000 euros at stake.

This year's winner is Yuz Boy, a 24-year-old rapper from Mali. He is accused of rape during several non-consensual reports between the end of 2020 and the spring of 2021. He would have known the complainant since the summer of 2020. The latter, aged 26, who wants to be called Capucine, would have met him by the intermediary of a mutual friend, then they would have gotten to know each other better on social networks. They would then have developed a friendly relationship, before it took a more intimate turn.

Capucine told the police that she would have been the victim of three rapes, the first of which would have happened at the end of 2020. “I tried to push her away with my hand and I asked her orally to 'stop in a clear way,'" she said. But the rapper would not have done it, and would have claimed in his defense, not to have heard it.

The second rape allegedly took place in February 2021 in an elevator. According to BFMTV, they were going to a friend's house to spend the night there after a party. They would have kissed while waiting for the elevator, but once inside, Yuz Boy would have penetrated her without wearing a condom and without asking her if she consented. According to Capucine, who had drunk a lot that evening, she was in no condition to react. “I did not struggle because I was surprised, she testifies. He is 1m95 and he is athletic. He has unpredictable reactions so I always feared his reactions,” she told investigators.

The victim reports a third rape that allegedly happened in March 2021 at her home. While he would have come to visit her, the rapper would have tried to kiss her. Going through a bad patch, Capucine would have said no, "for more than an hour". Yuz Boy is said to have respected his decision at first, before trying again later in the evening, when the two had been drinking. The young woman reports that he caressed her then lay down on her. She would then have asked him what he was doing but he would have continued. The young man allegedly took off her pants and then asked for her agreement, to which she claims to have answered "no" again. Despite everything, Yuz Boy allegedly took off her underwear and penetrated her without a condom. She says she was “stunned”. “During the act, I did not move, I did not shout. I said nothing. He left immediately afterwards. I remember that I shouted to him that he had defiled me but I had not integrated the fact that I had been raped.

She learns a few weeks later that she is pregnant. It is "the beginning of the second Calvary", she said again. The young woman has an abortion and then undergoes a slow descent into hell: she no longer leaves her home, resigns from her job and returns to live with her parents. "I didn't have the necessary strength or mental health," she says, explaining that it took her time to "get out of denial" and dare to file a complaint. “I am in a state of post-traumatic stress,” explains the young woman, followed by a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

For his part, Yuz Boy "falls from the clouds" in the words of his lawyer, Alissia Dexet. He would not be aware of this complaint or that an investigation against him is underway. “He has nothing to reproach himself for and does not know what it is about”, affirms the lawyer, who adds that “if there is an investigation, my client will be at the disposal of the investigators”.

The alleged victim reveals having confronted the young man with the acts of which she accuses him during a telephone conversation which she recorded. Yuz Boy admits to being "sorry for everything that happened" and that he "owns his wrongs" and wishes to "apologize".

Netflix certifies that it was not aware of these facts, explaining that it "does a lot of work when selecting candidates to ensure that there are no problematic things", by doing research on the " criminal history or tweets”. The platform claims to have had no reason to doubt the morality of the candidates for its competition.

Yuz Boy, who won the competition on Wednesday night did not show up for the event celebrating his victory. A Netflix spokesperson insisted on providing details following the publication of the BFMTV article on Thursday morning, saying that the platform was only made aware of these accusations “a few hours” before the broadcast of the final. .