As Loana's family and fans prepare to pay her a final tribute in Nice, one absence is already causing a stir: that of Jean-Édouard Lipa. Twenty-five years after Loft Story, the former contestant, who remains associated with Loana's image in the history of French reality TV, particularly for the famous pool scene, has announced that he will not be attending the ceremony.
"This is not my place."
It was during a live TikTok broadcast that Jean-Édouard justified his choice. His explanation was simple and direct: despite the symbolic link that unites them in the public's mind, he maintains that he has only crossed paths with Loana very rarely since the end of the show.
He thus declared: "I've seen her three times in 25 years. She's not my place."
In his view, this distance over the years is enough to make his presence at the funeral illegitimate.
A dig at those who talk about her everywhere
Jean-Édouard didn't just explain his absence. He also went on to target several of Loana's "friends," whom he accused, in veiled terms, of exploiting Loana's death for publicity. This was his way of saying he preferred to remain out of the public eye rather than be involved in a tribute he didn't genuinely consider his own. He also refused to be among the "vultures" who presented themselves as Loana's friends, when they had done nothing to help her and were only interested in one thing: basking in the limelight on her dead body.
