In 2019, he underlines on Twitter that "cardinal, bishops and priests that rape children don't believe in heaven or hell", criticizing the influence of the Vatican II reform. In September 2019, he declares on Twitter: "In my generation, boys looked for little Swedish girls who had the reputation to be more open than French girls. I imagine our surprise, our fear, if we had approached a Greta Thunberg". Julien Bayou, from the ecologist party, Europe Écologie - Les Verts, answers: « you're talking of a minor » and French feminist Caroline de Haas asks him to delete his post what he refuses to do. He was immediately defended by essayist Eric Zemmour. In December, Bernard Pivot apologized for allowing Gabriel Matzneff to describe his relationships with teenage girls (and boys) on his literary talkshows without being challenged by him.