‘Had enough’: Jérémy Gabriel ending 13 years of legal battles against comedian Mike Ward

After 13 years, Jérémy Gabriel has announced he is putting an end to the legal battles against comedian, Mike Ward.

On a YouTube show called “La Firme,” Gabriel said he is withdrawing the civil lawsuit of $288,000 which he had brought against Ward in January 2022.

The now 26-year-old says he has had enough.

“I no longer want to be in the confrontation with Mike Ward. I want to move on,” the singer said on the show.

Jeremy Gabriel arrives at a news conference Thursday, July 21, 2016 in Montreal. Quebec comedian Mike Ward has been ordered to pay $35,000 in moral and punitive damages to a young artist for jokes about his singing and his disfigurement. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Between September 2010 and March 2013, Ward’s 230 shows of s’eXpose included jokes about Gabriel’s singing and his condition, Treacher Collins syndrome.

In the interview with lawyer François-David Bernier, Gabriel says that he is withdrawing so that he can be heard, based on his experience and the importance of protecting children in the public forum. He says that he was not motivated by money.

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In October 2021, a Supreme Court judgment rule in favor of Ward, deciding that the case was possibly one of defamation and not of discrimination.

Comedian Mike Ward speaks to the media at the Quebec Appeal Court Wednesday, January 16, 2019 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

After filing the civil suit in January 2022, Gabriel now says over a year later, that since the conversation and dialogue has advanced, “nothing more constructive can come out of this lawsuit.”

His mother, Sylvie, still has civil proceedings for $84,600 in defamation brought before the Court of Appeal against Ward.

Gabriel says that the last 13 years have been hard on his parents, who he admits were the reason the legal proceedings were brought forth in the first place.

“It literally broke my family. The divorce of my parents was caused by the lawsuit in very large part,” he said.

A rep for Ward declined to comment on the news.

Meantime, Gabriel says he feels empathy for what Ward went through.

He also says he has no grudge against Ward and is not opposed to comedians’ freedom of expression.

In the interview, he said that he was open to meeting Ward and hopes the door is still open for him.

“I think history has connected us, we were both affected by the legal proceedings,” he said. “I believe that a conversation is necessary.”

– With files from The Canadian Press