The Jian Ghomeshi saga

[Barrister]

Okay, so Jian Ghomeshi is a high profile CBC Radio personality (which admittedly is a pretty low bar).  HIs show, Q also gets played on some NPR stations I gather.  I always thought of him as a bit of a pretenious d-bag, but whatever.

So anyways... on Sunday the CBC sends out a terse newsrelease, saying:

TORONTO, Oct. 26, 2014 /CNW/ - The CBC is saddened to announce its relationship with Jian Ghomeshi has come to an end.  This decision was not made without serious deliberation and careful consideration.  Jian has made an immense contribution to the CBC and we wish him well.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1434135/statement-by-cbc-regarding-jian-ghomeshi

Obviously more to this story, but will it come out?

Well here's Jian's reply:

Dear everyone,
I am writing today because I want you to be the first to know some news.
This has been the hardest time of my life. I am reeling from the loss of my father. I am in deep personal pain and worried about my mom. And now my world has been rocked by so much more.
Today, I was fired from the CBC.
For almost 8 years I have been the host of a show I co-created on CBC called Q. It has been my pride and joy. My fantastic team on Q are super-talented and have helped build something beautiful.
I have always operated on the principle of doing my best to maintain a dignity and a commitment to openness and truth, both on and off the air. I have conducted major interviews, supported Canadian talent, and spoken out loudly in my audio essays about ideas, issues, and my love for this country. All of that is available for anyone to hear or watch. I have known, of course, that not everyone always agrees with my opinions or my style, but I've never been anything but honest. I have doggedly defended the CBC and embraced public broadcasting. This is a brand I've been honoured to help grow.
All this has now changed.
Today I was fired from the company where I've been working for almost 14 years – stripped from my show, barred from the building and separated from my colleagues. I was given the choice to walk away quietly and to publicly suggest that this was my decision. But I am not going to do that. Because that would be untrue. Because I've been fired. And because I've done nothing wrong.
I've been fired from the CBC because of the risk of my private sex life being made public as a result of a campaign of false allegations pursued by a jilted ex girlfriend and a freelance writer.
As friends and family of mine, you are owed the truth.
I have commenced legal proceedings against the CBC, what's important to me is that you know what happened and why.
Forgive me if what follows may be shocking to some.
I have always been interested in a variety of activities in the bedroom but I only participate in sexual practices that are mutually agreed upon, consensual, and exciting for both partners.
About two years ago I started seeing a woman in her late 20s. Our relationship was affectionate, casual and passionate. We saw each other on and off over the period of a year and began engaging in adventurous forms of sex that included role-play, dominance and submission. We discussed our interests at length before engaging in rough sex (forms of BDSM). We talked about using safe words and regularly checked in with each other about our comfort levels. She encouraged our role-play and often was the initiator. We joked about our relations being like a mild form of Fifty Shades of Grey or a story from Lynn Coady's Giller-Prize winning book last year. I don't wish to get into any more detail because it is truly not anyone's business what two consenting adults do. I have never discussed my private life before. Sexual preferences are a human right.
Despite a strong connection between us it became clear to me that our on-and-off dating was unlikely to grow into a larger relationship and I ended things in the beginning of this year. She was upset by this and sent me messages indicating her disappointment that I would not commit to more, and her anger that I was seeing others.
After this, in the early spring there began a campaign of harassment, vengeance and demonization against me that would lead to months of anxiety.
It came to light that a woman had begun anonymously reaching out to people that I had dated (via Facebook) to tell them she had been a victim of abusive relations with me. In other words, someone was reframing what had been an ongoing consensual relationship as something nefarious. I learned – through one of my friends who got in contact with this person – that someone had rifled through my phone on one occasion and taken down the names of any woman I had seemed to have been dating in recent years. This person had begun methodically contacting them to try to build a story against me. Increasingly, female friends and ex-girlfriends of mine told me about these attempts to smear me.
Someone also began colluding with a freelance writer who was known not to be a fan of mine and, together, they set out to try to find corroborators to build a case to defame me. She found some sympathetic ears by painting herself as a victim and turned this into a campaign. The writer boldly started contacting my friends, acquaintances and even work colleagues – all of whom came to me to tell me this was happening and all of whom recognized it as a trumped up way to attack me and undermine my reputation. Everyone contacted would ask the same question, if I had engaged in non-consensual behavior why was the place to address this the media?
The writer tried to peddle the story and, at one point, a major Canadian media publication did due diligence but never printed a story. One assumes they recognized these attempts to recast my sexual behaviour were fabrications. Still, the spectre of mud being flung onto the Internet where online outrage can demonize someone before facts can refute false allegations has been what I've had to live with.
And this leads us to today and this moment. I've lived with the threat that this stuff would be thrown out there to defame me. And I would sue. But it would do the reputational damage to me it was intended to do (the ex has even tried to contact me to say that she now wishes to refute any of these categorically untrue allegations). But with me bringing it to light, in the coming days you will prospectively hear about how I engage in all kinds of unsavoury aggressive acts in the bedroom. And the implication may be made that this happens non-consensually. And that will be a lie. But it will be salacious gossip in a world driven by a hunger for "scandal". And there will be those who choose to believe it and to hate me or to laugh at me. And there will be an attempt to pile on. And there will be the claim that there are a few women involved (those who colluded with my ex) in an attempt to show a "pattern of behaviour". And it will be based in lies but damage will be done. But I am telling you this story in the hopes that the truth will, finally, conquer all.
I have been open with the CBC about this since these categorically untrue allegations ramped up. I have never believed it was anyone's business what I do in my private affairs but I wanted my bosses to be aware that this attempt to smear me was out there. CBC has been part of the team of friends and lawyers assembled to deal with this for months. On Thursday I voluntarily showed evidence that everything I have done has been consensual. I did this in good faith and because I know, as I have always known, that I have nothing to hide. This when the CBC decided to fire me.
CBC execs confirmed that the information provided showed that there was consent. In fact, they later said to me and my team that there is no question in their minds that there has always been consent. They said they're not concerned about the legal side. But then they said that this type of sexual behavior was unbecoming of a prominent host on the CBC. They said that I was being dismissed for "the risk of the perception that may come from a story that could come out." To recap, I am being fired in my prime from the show I love and built and threw myself into for years because of what I do in my private life.
Let me be the first to say that my tastes in the bedroom may not be palatable to some folks. They may be strange, enticing, weird, normal, or outright offensive to others. We all have our secret life. But that is my private life. That is my personal life. And no one, and certainly no employer, should have dominion over what people do consensually in their private life.
And so, with no formal allegations, no formal complaints, no complaints, not one, to the HR department at the CBC (they told us they'd done a thorough check and were satisfied), and no charges, I have lost my job based on a campaign of vengeance. Two weeks after the death of my beautiful father I have been fired from the CBC because of what I do in my private life.
I have loved the CBC. The Q team are the best group of people in the land. My colleagues and producers and on-air talent at the CBC are unparalleled in being some of the best in the business. I have always tried to be a good soldier and do a good job for my country. I am still in shock. But I am telling this story to you so the truth is heard. And to bring an end to the nightmare.

Bolded the good bits.

https://www.facebook.com/jianghomeshi/posts/10152357063881750

So that apparently is the best spin he can put on this.

Then, the Toronto Star weighs in.

CBC fires Jian Ghomeshi over sex allegations
Ousted host of Q denies claims by three women of unwanted sexual violence and threatens to sue broadcaster for $50 million.
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Jian Ghomeshi, popular host of the CBC's Q radio show, was fired Sunday amid allegations by four woman of sexual  harassment or violence. He said he has "done nothing wrong" and will sue the broadcaster for $50 million.
/ TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

Jian Ghomeshi, popular host of the CBC's Q radio show, was fired Sunday amid allegations by four woman of sexual harassment or violence. He said he has "done nothing wrong" and will sue the broadcaster for $50 million.

By: Kevin Donovan Investigations, Jesse Brown Special to the Star, Published on Sun Oct 26 2014
CBC star Jian Ghomeshi has been fired over "information" the public broadcaster recently received that it says "precludes" it from continuing to employ the 47-year-old host of the popular Q radio show.
Shortly after CBC announced Ghomeshi was out the door on Sunday, Ghomeshi released news that he was launching a $50-million lawsuit claiming "breach of confidence and bad faith" by his employer of almost 14 years. He later followed that up with a Facebook posting saying he has been the target of "harassment, vengeance and demonization."
RELATED:
Why the Star chose to publish 'explosive' allegations
Fired radio host earned loyal following with interview show
PHOTO GALLERY: Jian Ghomeshi in studio and in front of the camera
Over the past few months the Star has approached Ghomeshi with allegations from three young women, all about 20 years his junior, who say he was physically violent to them without their consent during sexual encounters or in the lead-up to sexual encounters. Ghomeshi, through his lawyer, has said he "does not engage in non-consensual role play or sex and any suggestion of the contrary is defamatory."
In his Facebook posting Sunday evening, Ghomeshi wrote in an emotional statement that he has "done nothing wrong." He said it is not unusual for him to engage in "adventurous forms of sex that included role-play, dominance and submission." However, he said it has always been consensual.
Ghomeshi's statement said that he has been open with the CBC about the allegations. He said the CBC's decision to fire him came after he voluntarily showed evidence late last week that everything he has done was consensual. Ghomeshi blames a woman he describes as an ex-girlfriend for spreading lies about him and orchestrating a campaign with other women to "smear" him.
The three women interviewed by the Star allege that Ghomeshi physically attacked them on dates without consent. They allege he struck them with a closed fist or open hand; bit them; choked them until they almost passed out; covered their nose and mouth so that they had difficulty breathing; and that they were verbally abused during and after sex.
A fourth woman, who worked at CBC, said Ghomeshi told her at work: "I want to hate f--- you."
"I have always been interested in a variety of activities in the bedroom but I only participate in sexual practices that are mutually agreed upon, consensual, and exciting for both partners," Ghomeshi said in his posting.
"Let me be the first to say that my tastes in the bedroom may not be palatable to some folks. They may be strange, enticing, weird, normal, or outright offensive to others. ... But that is my private life. ... And no one, and certainly no employer, should have dominion over what people do consensually in their private life.
In September, Ghomeshi told the Star that he did not understand why the newspaper was continuing to pursue allegations when "my lawyers have already told you it is untrue." Over dinner at a chance meeting at a public event, Ghomeshi said he is a "good person" and described many of his recent successes, including an interview with Barbra Streisand. He said he could not answer any of the Star's questions about his alleged abusive conduct.
Early last summer, the Star began looking into allegations by young women of sexual abuse by Ghomeshi over the past two years. The Star conducted detailed interviews with the women, talking to each woman several times. None of the women filed police complaints and none agreed to go on the record. The reasons given for not coming forward publicly include the fear that they would be sued or would be the object of Internet retaliation. (A woman who wrote an account of an encounter with a Canadian radio host believed to be Ghomeshi was subjected to vicious Internet attacks by online readers who said they were supporters of the host.)
Ghomeshi is the co-creator of Q, one of the most successful shows in CBC history. It is the corporation's flagship radio show in Canada and is syndicated to 180 radio stations in the U.S. In his Facebook posting, Ghomeshi paid homage to his "fantastic team," a group of "super-talented" journalists whom he works with to produce the show five days a week.
That all ended over the weekend, Ghomeshi said. On Friday came the news that he had been put on indeterminate leave by the CBC to deal with "personal issues."
Then on Sunday, two bomb shells.
First, CBC issued a statement shortly after noon saying Ghomeshi was gone. "Information came to (CBC's) attention recently that in CBC's judgment precludes us from continuing our relationship with Jian Ghomeshi," CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson said in an interview.
Ghomeshi said in his Facebook posting that his CBC bosses gave him a choice to "walk away quietly" or to be fired. He chose not to walk away and "publicly suggest that this was my decision." And so, Ghomeshi said, he was "stripped from my show, barred from the building and separated from my colleagues."
Two hours later, his lawyers announced that Monday morning, when courts open, Ghomeshi would be filing a $50-million lawsuit against the CBC, a corporation he later said on Facebook he has "doggedly defended" for years.
His law firm, Dentons LLP, stated the lawsuit will claim general and punitive damages for breach of confidence and bad faith. The firm's statement also noted Ghomeshi will "commence a grievance for reinstatement under his collective agreement."
Sources say top CBC brass spent the weekend in closed-door meetings at their Front St. head office. Ghomeshi is a huge part of the CBC brand, and a fear that the brand would be tarnished is causing the CBC to try to "get out ahead of the story" by taking action before damaging reports in the media surfaced, sources say.
In his Facebook posting Sunday, Ghomeshi blames an ex girlfriend — whom he does not name — for spreading lies after he broke off the relationship early this year. He said he and the woman "began engaging in adventurous forms of sex that included role-play, dominance and submission." They used "safe words" and "regularly checked in with each other about our comfort levels," he said.
Ghomeshi also said he and the women jokingly talked about how their relationship was a mild form of Fifty Shades of Grey or a story from Lynn Coady's Giller Prize-winning book.
The Star had several detailed interviews with each of the three women, who said they experienced violence from Ghomeshi without consent, and with the former CBC employee, who complained of verbal and physical harassment in the workplace.
The women now accusing Jian Ghomeshi of violence began as his fans. Two had very similar early experiences with him. After Ghomeshi met them at public events, which he had promoted on CBC Radio, he contacted them through Facebook and asked them on dates. They eagerly accepted.
Each woman said she remembers Ghomeshi being initially sweet and flattering, then later suggesting or hinting at violent sex acts. When they failed to respond or expressed displeasure, they recalled Ghomeshi dismissing his remarks as "just fantasies," reassuring them he wouldn't ask them to do anything they weren't comfortable with. The women deny that "safe words" were employed in the relationship.
In one woman's case, she visited Ghomeshi at his Toronto home and alleges as soon as she walked into his house he suddenly struck her hard with his open hand, then continued to hit her and choked her. The woman alleges Ghomeshi repeatedly beat her about the head and choked her.
The Star's interviews of the women were lengthy. The women, all educated and employed, said Ghomeshi's actions shocked them.
Another woman, who described a similar alleged attack, said that in the lead-up to their date Ghomeshi "warned me he would be aggressive."
"I thought this meant he would want to pull my hair and have rough sex. He reassured me that I wouldn't be forced. (Later) he attacked me. Choked me. Hit me like I didn't know men hit women. I submitted."
None of the women has contacted police. When asked why by the Star, the women cited several reasons including fears that a police report would expose their names and worries that their consent or acceptance of fantasy role-play discussions in text or other messages with Ghomeshi would be used against them as evidence of consent to actual violence.
Only one of the alleged victims worked at the CBC. She never dated Ghomeshi. She alleges he approached her from behind and cupped her rear end in the Q studio, and that he quietly told her at a story meeting that he wanted to "hate f---" her.
The woman said she complained about Ghomeshi's behaviour to her union representative, who took the complaint to a Q producer. As the woman recalls, the producer asked her "what she could do to make this a less toxic workplace" for herself. No further action was taken by the CBC, and the woman left the broadcaster shortly thereafter.
The Star presented allegations gleaned from its interviews to the CBC. Spokesman Chuck Thompson said he could not respond to any of the allegations, citing both privacy rules related to the employer-employee relationship and Ghomeshi's intention to file a lawsuit.
Each of the women accusing Ghomeshi cite the case of Carla Ciccone as a reason why they desire anonymity. Last year Ciccone wrote an article for the website XOJane about a "bad date" with an unidentified, very popular Canadian radio host whom readers speculated to be Ghomeshi.
In the days that followed, Ciccone received hundreds of abusive messages and threats. An online video calling her a "scumbag of the Internet" has been viewed over 397,000 times. Ciccone's claims about the behaviour during her "bad date" were far less severe than the allegations of abuse from the women now accusing Ghomeshi, who fear the online backlash could be significantly worse for them if their names were made public.
After the Star initially sought comment from Ghomeshi in the summer (after interviewing the women), Ghomeshi's lawyer, Neil Rabinovitch, wrote to the Star saying that he had reviewed "emails and text messages" between Ghomeshi and the women Rabinovitch believed were the Star's sources. The lawyer said in a letter he believed this information would "discredit the individuals we believe to be your sources."
Rabinovitch said he was unable to disclose the emails and text messages because it "violates the privacy of all involved."
Ghomeshi is using the same law firm and has also hired crisis communication consultants Navigator.

In his Facebook posting, Ghomeshi stated there have been no complaints about him to the CBC human resources department, nor have there been any "formal allegations" or "formal complaints" about his behaviour.
Ghomeshi was to host the Giller Prize awards ceremony Nov. 10 but the Giller organizers said Sunday he would not longer be the host.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/10/26/cbc_fires_jian_ghomeshi_over_sex_allegations.html

So what say you Languish?

[crazy canuck]

I llked Ghomeshi's show. I am going to miss him.  Not sure how he has a 50 million dollar law suit though.  Will have to wait to see how he pleads his case. 

[Malthus]

So what say you Languish?

I say we put our best investigator on this case.

Sounds like a job for ... CdM. 

[frunk]

I've heard his show occasionally, he usually had interesting guests when I tuned in.  No real opinion on him.

[Grey Fox]

I don't know who that is.

The CBC terminating is relationship with him on those grounds is total prude Bullshit. I am very displeased with Hubert Lacroix.

[Malthus]

I don't know who that is.

The CBC terminating is relationship with him on those grounds is total prude Bullshit. I am very displeased with Hubert Lacroix.

If the allegations are true, they arguably have grounds to fire him for cause - I'll defer to those doing employment law.

Allegedly, he's being fired not for a little consentual BDSM, but for non-consentual assaults. Though I suppose the issue will be whether his employer acted reasonably in believing the accusers.

[Barrister]

I don't know who that is.

The CBC terminating is relationship with him on those grounds is total prude Bullshit. I am very displeased with Hubert Lacroix.

If the allegations are true, they arguably have grounds to fire him for cause - I'll defer to those doing employment law.

Allegedly, he's being fired not for a little consentual BDSM, but for non-consentual assaults. Though I suppose the issue will be whether his employer acted reasonably in believing the accusers.

IMHO, CBC would be hard-pressed to fire him for cause, but would be well within their rights to give him payment in lieu of notice.

I have to say though I'm puzzled by Ghomeshi's aggressive defence strategy.  I would've thought you take a 6-month sabatical, refuse to discuss any allegations that are made (after all they are pretty weak - no one has gone on record), and then take a high-paid gig with a private radio network in 2015.

[Malthus]

I don't know who that is.

The CBC terminating is relationship with him on those grounds is total prude Bullshit. I am very displeased with Hubert Lacroix.

If the allegations are true, they arguably have grounds to fire him for cause - I'll defer to those doing employment law.

Allegedly, he's being fired not for a little consentual BDSM, but for non-consentual assaults. Though I suppose the issue will be whether his employer acted reasonably in believing the accusers.

IMHO, CBC would be hard-pressed to fire him for cause, but would be well within their rights to give him payment in lieu of notice.

I have to say though I'm puzzled by Ghomeshi's aggressive defence strategy.  I would've thought you take a 6-month sabatical, refuse to discuss any allegations that are made (after all they are pretty weak - no one has gone on record), and then take a high-paid gig with a private radio network in 2015.

Based on just the articles, it is hard to say.

My understanding is that such factors as whether there was a history of complaints and whether the employee was given a meaningful opportunity to respond to the allegations factor into whether the termination was reasonable.

The articles differ on these. In one case, there is an allegation that an employee made a complaint of being harrassed - but he denies there was any complaints (seems to me this is something that either would be or would not be on the record).

According to the articles, he was dismissed after talking to management about the allegations. Clearly, what was said - and whether this was a meaningful opportunity for him to address the complaints - will be important.

In any event, I can see him getting a legthy notice period if it works out for him in court, but I can't see him getting $50 million.

[PRC]

Jian Ghomeshi was also in the hit band Moxy Fruvous!  "Once I was the King of Spain..."

[Jacob]

Jian Ghomeshi was also in the hit band Moxy Fruvous!  "Once I was the King of Spain..."

Whoa! I saw them in concert once, back in the day. This makes all this seem so real.

[PRC]

He hired "Navigator", a well known Canadian PR firm that specialize in this kind of reputation crisis management.  His letter on Facebook gets in front of the story with his side before it hit the general news. 

[CountDeMoney]

The women, all educated and employed, said Ghomeshi's actions shocked them.

Because uneducated and unemployed women would not be shocked, since apparently they deserve it.  Good form, Toronto Star.  DERSPIESS PRESSES SUBSCRIBE

[crazy canuck]

I don't know who that is.

The CBC terminating is relationship with him on those grounds is total prude Bullshit. I am very displeased with Hubert Lacroix.

If the allegations are true, they arguably have grounds to fire him for cause - I'll defer to those doing employment law.

Allegedly, he's being fired not for a little consentual BDSM, but for non-consentual assaults. Though I suppose the issue will be whether his employer acted reasonably in believing the accusers.

No way of knowing what the employer's version is and so there is no way of knowing how to assess the legal issue.  He has gone out very agressively to put his side of the story out.  Probably to raise his profile and marketability for his next gig.

[Barrister]

Toronto Star says that they investigated the story, declined to publicize it due to lack of corroboration, but changed their mind after Ghomeshi's "extraordinary statement on Facebook".

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/10/26/why_the_star_chose_to_publish_jian_ghomeshi_allegations.html

Again - I'm no PR professional but his decision to "get in front of this story" still seems very questionable.

[Admiral Yi]

Allegations from several women scuttle him.