Céline Dion is under fire in France for allegedly faking her performance at the Olympics – causing the fragile songbird a heap of stress that’s got pals once again worried for her welfare, a source exclusively tells In Touch.
“This is obviously a real kick in the teeth that seems incredibly unnecessary. To be giving Céline, of all people, grief over her singing is just so cruel,” the source says.
The French Canadian singer, 56, made an emotional return to the stage during the Games’ opening ceremony in Paris in July, kicking her live performance career back into gear after she had put a pause on all stage shows for nearly two years following her diagnosis with stiff person syndrome (SPS).
The progressive disease, which affects Céline’s motor ability, can cause stiffness in the arms and legs, trouble walking and speaking, as well as greater sensitivity to noise and light and has no cure.
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer first revealed she was diagnosed with SPS as she explained why she was forced to cancel several North American and European tour dates in a December 2022 Instagram video.
Now, the source says the recent row back in France has pitched the songbird into a tizzy as she tries to manage her return while fending off haters.
“Adding any sort of stress to her life after what she’s been through is unconscionable,” the insider says. “She put her heart and soul into that performance, the feeling for a lot of people is that it certainly doesn’t matter if she used some vocal help, everyone knows she’s been sick and the fact is most artists use backing tracks during their live performances.”
Céline moved millions to tears giving a beautiful rendition of “Hymne à L’amour” under the Eiffel Tower to launch the Olympics, but the respected French paper Liberation had quoted multiple music industry experts who claimed the performance was pre-recorded, “without a shadow of a doubt.”
“It was 100% playback, you can hear it from the first notes,” an unnamed sound engineer said.
Composer and performer Etienne Guéreau told the publication, “What we heard on T.V. was a corrected playback.”
Céline and Olympic organizers have yet to comment on the alleged “scandal,” but the source notes that the sour tone struck by the commentators is leaving more than a few with a bad taste in their mouths.
“She’s staying pretty tight lipped over it so it’s still unclear if she actually did have any help, but what’s really cruel is people aren’t even giving her the benefit of the doubt or any sort of grace, they are just attacking her and trolling her and being so vicious and it’s the last thing she needs.”
“She’s getting called unauthentic, which is the most horrible allegation you could make about Celine, and the most completely untrue one at that.”
“There is no doubt she is getting her voice back and wants to do a proper comeback, but this sort of ugly gossip isn’t going to help her confidence.”
“People just hope it goes away quickly, because she’s a very sensitive person and this has really upset her.”
