Listen to this article
About 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We work with our partners to continually review and improve results.
Figure skater Laurence Fournier Beaudry broke down in tears in a new Netflix documentary as she described being caught in the fallout after Nikolaj Sorensenher boyfriend and former ice dancing partner, was accused of sexual assault.
Fournier Beaudry, a 33-year-old Montrealer, discusses the allegations in Glitter and gold: dancing on icea documentary series scheduled for release on February 1.
The three-part show follows three of the best ice dance teams ahead of the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February, including Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France.
“I never really talk publicly about the amount of damage this creates,” Fournier Beaudry said in the first episode. “I don’t even want to go back to how I felt in those moments because I thought I was so strong and I really thought I could handle anything.
“I just felt like I was collateral damage.”
Changing national representation is common in ice and partner dancing due to the small pool of potential partners.
Fournier Beaudry teamed up with Cizeron last year, gaining French citizenship in November, after Sorensen received a six-year ban for sexual violence in October 2024.
The suspension followed an investigation by the now-defunct Office of the Sports Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) into an allegation that Sorensen sexually assaulted a U.S. figure skating coach and former skater in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2012.
“When they decided to suspend him, that meant his career was over, which also meant my career was over,” said Fournier Beaudry, who has publicly defended her boyfriend since a January 2024 report in USA Today highlighted the allegation.
“It was extremely difficult because it wasn’t just about skating, it was about my integrity, his integrity. I know my boyfriend 100 percent. I know him. And we [stood] strong together.”
An arbitrator from the Sport Dispute Resolution Center of Canada (SDRCC) overturned the suspension in June, citing jurisdictional issues. Sorensen was neither a Canadian citizen nor competing for Skate Canada at the time of the alleged incident.
Claim not yet tested in court
The Netflix documentary stated that the arbitrator’s decision remained under appeal until production was completed. Under its disclosure policy, the SDRCC cannot comment on or provide information on cases that are not before the organization, that are ongoing, or that have been resolved through mediation.
Sorensen denied the allegation, which was not tested in court.
Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen, 36, skated together for 13 seasons and dated for 12 years, she said in the documentary series.
The duo competed for Denmark, Sorensen’s country of birth, before moving to Canada when Fournier Beaudry was unable to obtain Danish citizenship before the 2018 Olympics.
Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen skated at the 2022 Winter Games, won a national title in 2023 and placed fifth at the 2023 World Championships while representing Canada.
“The plan was to continue my career with Nik and go to Milan Cortina and enjoy our last season together,” she said. “But that’s not what happened.
“Everything I’ve been through over the last year and a half has been a roller coaster.”
The documentary also goes behind the scenes with three-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States and Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who won four world medals.
Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron will join them as contenders in Milan after winning gold at last week’s European Championships in Sheffield, England, with the highest total score this season.
Cizeron has also faced controversy this season. Before the event, he had accused his former partner Gabriella Papadakis, with whom he won the Olympic gold medal in 2022, of a “smear campaign” against him.
Papadakis published a book earlier this month in which she describes Cizeron as controlling. She said she lost a commentary role on NBC for the Winter Olympics.
