Music

Three women allege that Jian Ghomeshi treated them abusively

by Mark Teo

Yesterday, the story of Jian Ghomesi’s “leave of absence” from the CBC that Canadaland‘s Jesse Brown broke on Friday completely blew up: Jian Ghomeshi was formally fired from the CBC, he retaliated with a $50 million lawsuit, and the former Q star was the first to issue a statement, stating on Facebook that he was the target of a “jilted ex girlfriend and a freelance writer” who threatened to take his “private sex life… public.” It was a lot to digest.

As of yet, the CBC has yet to issue a formal statement, but the Toronto Star, along with Canadaland‘s Brown, dropped another bomb: That they’ve been pursuing Ghomeshi’s story for months, and that three women allege that Ghomeshi engaged in abusive behaviour.

The women say they were struck by Ghomeshi—one says she was hit just as she entered the house—or bit by him, choked until they were nearly passed out, and verbally abused. One thing to note, here: All three allege that his behaviour wasn’t simply kink. It was, they say, non-consensual.

Here’s what one woman told the newspaper.

Dan Savage, the famed sex columnist, chimed in on the issue last night.

Further, a fourth woman, who was an ex-coworker of Ghomeshi’s at the CBC, told the Star that the broadcaster told her that he wanted to “hate fuck” her.

All four women remain anonymous sources. And while it’s often ethically questionable to trust anonymous sources, the Star provided very good reasons for protecting their sources’ identities: The women feared that if they revealed their names, they would be subjected to a flurry of online harassment. These are very legitimate fears: Carla Ciccone, a writer who wrote an XOJane story about a “creepy” Canadian media personality largely believed to be Ghomeshi, received copious amounts of bullying. Elsewhere, there are other reminders that the Internet can be a hostile place for women—an Anita Sarkeesian lecture, for instance, was cancelled due to a shooting threat at Utah State University.

So yes, we understand why these women chose to remain anonymous, and we understand the Star‘s decision to honour that request.

The women also detailed how they met Ghomeshi. Two said they met Ghomeshi at Q events as fans. After he messaged them on Facebook and asked them out for dates, they complied. After being initially demure, they say, Ghomeshi eventually suggested violent acts. They also contradict Ghomeshi’s statement that, during rough sex, he uses safe words.

Ghomeshi’s story is very much a developing one. Canadaland‘s Brown released a two-minute podcast this morning, essentially stating as much—although, as he has no lawyer at his disposal, he cautiously chose to remain mum on his reporting. The CBC, meanwhile, have yet to detail their perspective on the story—although as of this morning, they’ve torn down the Q posters from their Front St. office.