The Case Against Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron (Primer)
How Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron Support and Defend Sørensen
Gabriella Papadakis’s Memoir Alleges a Disturbing Pattern of Abusive Behavior from Cizeron
Petition for English Translation of Papadakis's Book
By Madison (@KnifeShoeSport1 on Twitter) with additional research and translation from Shabah (@Fanthomette) and Elle (@2axelbot)
Content warning: graphic depictions of sexual assault and rape
This timeline serves to gather all known information related to the Nikolaj Sørensen rape investigation, complete with dates and sources. For a brief overview of the case and Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron’s involvement in it, please read our primer here.


February 2nd-4th, 2024 - Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen compete at the ISU Four Continents Championship and place 2nd
March 6th, 2024 - Skate Canada hosts a media day in preparation for the upcoming World Championships. Sorensen attempts to discredit the allegations in the press, and Fournier-Beaudry reiterates her full support for Sorensen.
March 21st, 2024 - The third USA Today article is released. The alleged victim’s attorney tells USA Today that Sørensen’s comments at Media Day are “retaliation” against the victim and should have resulted in him being suspended by Skate Canada. Alleged victim makes first public statement
March 22nd, 2024 - Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen compete in the rhythm dance at the ISU World Championships. When speaking with reporters after their performance, Sørensen says he feels like he did nothing wrong.
October 2nd, 2024 - Nikolaj Sørensen suspended from Skate Canada by OSIC for a minimum of 6 years for alleged “sexual maltreatment”
October 4th, 2024 - The alleged victim publishes statement
“Dear figure skating community,
Thank you to everyone who sent their support to me, it really helped me through the darkest days of this past year, and I greatly appreciate the kind words.
First and foremost I want to thank my US attorney Nancy Hogshead who was my rock throughout this process and without whom I could never have seen this through to the end. Her guidance and the truth of what happened to me kept me going through the hardest days.
I also want to thank the OSIC provided therapist and attorney who went above and beyond their required hours to support me out of the goodness of their hearts. You were integral to this process.
I want to thank OSIC for their thorough and fair process. While it was daunting, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that abuse must be treated with extreme caution and cannot be rushed.
I hope the respondent will be able to finally take accountability for his actions and seek help to become a safe member of society outside of our sport.
My thoughts are with Laurence Fournier Beaudry, who has unfairly had to endure the trauma of this case.
A word to the figure skating fans: please refrain from bullying or retaliation against anyone who appeared in photos with the respondent since the news broke. Skaters forced to train alongside or compete with him were put in an impossible situation. The responsibility of creating a safe environment lied primarily with the coaches and figure skating federation. Fellow athletes should not be blamed for any proximity to the respondent or silence on the matter.
I hope the respondent’s coaches will reflect on how they handled this situation and the importance of their role as a leading ice dance program. The same responsibility belongs to figure skating commentators who downplayed the severity of the allegations during the airing of the world figure skating championships. I am sure that I am not the only survivor who was distraught to hear the supportive comments made about them on the air, completely belittling the experience of rape survivors and promoting the dangerous culture of victim silence in our sport.
Please believe survivors and continue to support safe sport measures across borders and sports.”
For more information, please read our other articles:
Cizeron’s former ice dance partner Gabriella Papadakis recently released her memoir Pour ne pas disparaître. In this book, Gabriella examines the mistreatment women face within ice dance and the culture of silence that surrounds it. It also discusses how Cizeron mistreated her. There is not currently an English translation, but you can sign the petition for an English-language release of the book here.