Jian Ghomeshi | |
|---|---|
 Ghomeshi hosting his radio showQ in 2009 | |
| Born | (1967-06-09)June 9, 1967 (age 57) London, England |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Other names | Jean Ghomeshi[1] |
| Alma mater | York University |
| Occupation(s) | Broadcaster Writer Musician Producer |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Relatives | Jila Ghomeshi (sister) |
| Website | roqemedia |
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Jian Ghomeshi: Defying Cultural Expectations | |
| Ghomeshi: Is Multiculturalism Broken? | |
| Ghomeshi: "Everyone Can Be a Millionaire" |
Jian Ghomeshi (born June 9, 1967) is a Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and formerCBC personality. From 1990 to 2000, he was a vocalist and drummer in theThornhill-based folk-pop bandMoxy Früvous. In the 2000s, he became a television and radio broadcaster. He hosted, among others, theCBC Newsworld programPlay (2002–2005), theCBC Radio One programThe National Playlist (2005–2006), and the CBC Radio One programQ, which he co-created and hosted from 2007 to 2014.
Ghomeshi was fired by the CBC in 2014, as allegations ofsexual assault andsexual harassment came out, for which he was eventually arrested. In late 2015, Ghomeshi pleaded not guilty to the charges, andhis trial began in early 2016. That March he wasacquitted of five of the charges, and in May,the Crown withdrew the last remaining charge after Ghomeshi signed apeace bond and apologized to his accuser.
In April 2017, Ghomeshi launched a new online venture,The Ideation Project. In 2018, Ghomeshi's essay "Reflections from a Hashtag" was published inThe New York Review of Books, which led to widespread criticism of the magazine.
Jian Ghomeshi was born inLondon, England, toIranian parents Farhang (Frank),[2] a civil engineer,[3] and Azar (Sara) Ghomeshi.[4] His family came to Canada in 1974 when Jian was aged seven and his sister,Jila Ghomeshi, was aged ten, first living inToronto before eventually settling in its suburb ofThornhill,Ontario.[5][6] Ghomeshi described Thornhill as a "safe and quiet suburb where conformity was coveted... The dwellings all looked relatively similar on our street, and most of the houses had big lawns and nice trees".[7] He visited pre-revolutionaryTehran twice as a child, once at age two, the other aged five.[8]
AMuslim, Ghomeshi was born into asecular household that was initially optimistic about the1979 Iranian Revolution but also celebrated onChristmas andEaster, and has described being raised in a largelyJewish community.[9][6] With fewIranian expatriates in Canada during his youth, Ghomeshi "was extremely self-conscious of his appearance and hisEast London accent" and "felt different."[10] He wasbullied for his ethnicity by classmates, who called him "Blackie", "Arab", "Paki", and "terrorist".[6]
Ghomeshi attendedThornlea Secondary School,[11] where he was student council president.[12] He has written that, during his teenage years, he ensured that his clothes smelled of cigarette smoke to give him "socialcredibility" even though he was a non-smoker, dressed "new wave"[13] and listened to music fromDavid Bowie,Talking Heads, andRush.[14] Ghomeshi had an interest in music as a student and in Grade 9 started a short-lived band with a few of his school friends called Urban Transit.[5] His older sister, Jila, became a professor of linguistics, and their parents had initial reservations about his less-traditional career path—the distinction betweenbusking andbegging being lost on his father—but Ghomeshi has said they ultimately supported his choices.[2][10][15]
In 1985, Ghomeshi was a committedfeminist and buddingprogressiveactivist when he matriculated atYork University in the theatre program (in his memoir1982, he describes himself as a "theatre geek").[16][10][17] In 1990, he earned a record number of votes in his election to head of student government, which he renamed theYork Federation of Students.[1] As president, Ghomeshi institutedbilingualism and advocated forabortion rights,free tuition, and ending “institutional racism.” He also cut off funding to student groups he alleged were engaged in “sexism, racism, homophobia and other exclusionary measures." While criticizingfraternities andsororities for "sexism", he supported the school's female-only Women's Centre and was one of the few men allowed inside it. When then-Prime MinisterBrian Mulroney visited campus, Ghomeshi hurled macaroni at him. Progressives have since traced the roots of the “activist student coup” that subsequently took hold of York back to Ghomeshi's radical leadership.[1][17]
In 1995, after taking time off to play music, Ghomeshi graduated from York with aBA inpolitical science and adouble minor in history andwomen's studies.[12][18][19][20]
In 1983, Ghomeshi and friendsMurray Foster, Tracy Jones, Reno Manfredi, and John Ruttle formed a band called Tall New Buildings.[21][22][23] The band released two 12"EPs and played various gigs in and outside of Toronto before breaking up around 1988. Ghomeshi, Foster and another bandmate,Mike Ford, then formed a band called The Chia Pets.[24]
In 1989, the trio were joined byDave Matheson to form thepolitically satiricalfolk-pop bandMoxy Früvous and together recorded eight albums before going on indefinite hiatus in 2001. Moxy Früvous was originally inspired by street-performing or busking bands, and Ghomeshi and bandmates started out by playing on streets in Toronto.[10] Ghomeshi sang and played drums. He was credited as "Jean" rather than Jian on the band's first album, but reverted to the original spelling of his name for subsequent albums. A year after forming, Moxy Früvous was opening for headline performers likeBob Dylan.[5] The band sold over 50,000 copies of their debut independent EP in 1992 (gold in Canada). Their debut albumBargainville went platinum in Canada in 1994 after selling over 100,000 copies. The band was also nominated for aJuno Award as Band of the Year in 1994.[24] Over the course of eight albums, they sold over 500,000 copies of their albums in Canada and the United States and made an appearance onNBC'sLate Night with Conan O'Brien.[10] Ghomeshi released his first solo EP,The First 6 Songs, in July 2001.
A 1996 video tape, revealed in 2014, suggested that Ghomeshi disdained his audiences, stating on camera that people paying to see the band's shows were "losers" and "fucking idiots".[25] David Yuhnke, who was present at the recording, suspected that Ghomeshi was joking, recalling that the room's atmosphere was "sarcasm-laded", but added that he found it "hard to gauge entirely if he [Ghomeshi] was being serious or not".[26]
In 1999, Ghomeshi began a correspondence with a 16-year-old girl, Sally Block, who was a fan of Moxy Früvous. This continued for three years and included in-person meetings where Ghomeshi is alleged to have been "handsy" with her. In 2002, they had a falling out and Block broke into Ghomeshi's email account. Ghomeshi sought to have her banned from "FruCon" – a Moxy Früvous convention – and wanted criminal charges to be pressed against her. She was allowed to attend FruCon, and Ghomeshi dropped the issue after her father confronted him for "carrying on this type of relationship with an underage girl".[27]
Ghomeshi's production company, Jian Ghomeshi Productions Inc., managed musicianMartina Sorbara (now of the bandDragonette) and produced music forDar Williams.[28][29] He managedelectropop artistLights from 2007 until 2014, during which time she won the Juno Award for Best New Artist and was nominated for several more.[30] Lights initially supported Ghomeshi after he was accused of sexual abuse in 2014, but later dropped him as her manager, saying: "I rushed to defend my manager of 12 years. I am now aware that my comments appear insensitive to those impacted and for that I am deeply sorry".[31]
In 2002, Ghomeshi became host ofCBC Newsworld'sPlay, a show about the arts in Canada and abroad.Play ran for three seasons and won aGemini Award.[10] He also wrote columns forThe Toronto Star andThe Globe and Mail.[10] Ghomeshi hosted the radio series50 Tracks and50 Tracks: The Canadian Version onCBC Radio One andCBC Radio 2 (now CBC Music). From late 2005 until early 2006, he hosted a program on Radio One calledThe National Playlist.
From April 16, 2007, to October 26, 2014, Ghomeshi was the host ofQ, a program airing twice daily on CBC Radio One, and on over 170 stations in the U.S. throughPublic Radio International. As the host ofQ, he interviewed a range of musicians, artists, actors, and other notable figures, a list that includedWoody Allen,Paul McCartney,Salman Rushdie,Barbara Walters,William Shatner,Jay-Z,Jimmy Wales, andLeonard Cohen.[2] In 2012, Ghomeshi received the Gold Award for best talk show host at theNew York Festivals' International Radio Awards.[12] By 2013, withQ had a weekly audience of more than 2.5 million listeners weekly in Canada and 550,000 listeners in the U.S.[32] During his time as host ofQ, Ghomeshi many times booked guests who shared his agent and lawyer without disclosing this connection.[33]
Ghomeshi hosted the 2009Dora Mavor Moore Awards ceremony.[34] He was set to host the November 2014Scotiabank Giller Prize awards gala but was replaced in October by comedianRick Mercer.[35] That same month, he was replaced as the host of the CBC competitionCanada Reads byWab Kinew, the previous year's winner.[36]
In December 2014 the CBC announced that it would not be rebroadcasting Ghomeshi's interviews and it would be removing them from the CBC's online archive.[37] Reactions to this decision were swift and varied and, after further deliberations by CBC management, the decision was reversed.[38]
On April 8, 2009, actor and musicianBilly Bob Thornton appeared with his band,The Boxmasters, onQ. In introducing Thornton, Ghomeshi mentioned Thornton's acting career and added, "he's always intended to make music, he just got sidetracked." In responding to Ghomeshi's subsequent interview questions, Thornton acted confused and gave vague, evasive answers. When asked about his musical tastes and influences as a child, Thornton answered with a rambling commentary about his favourite childhood magazine,Famous Monsters of Filmland.[39][40] Later in the interview, Thornton said that the reason for his uncooperative answers was that Ghomeshi had been "instructed not to discuss" his film career but had done so.[40]
Thornton said that Canadians did not get up and move or throw things at concerts, and referred to them as "mashed potatoes without the gravy".[41] Ghomeshi replied, "Oh, we've got some gravy up here as well."[42] Ghomeshi described the interview as one of the most difficult he has conducted. He compared the international media exposure that followed the interview to being "in the middle of a tsunami".[43] After the show, Canadians responded to Ghomeshi's "professionalism and the manner in which he handled the situation ... [and] the show received more than 100,000 e-mails with almost unanimous praise for the host".[10]
In the spring of 2014, Ghomeshi advised his employers at theCBC that theToronto Star was looking into allegations by an ex-girlfriend that he had engaged innon-consensual rough sex and that he denied this accusation.[44] The crisis management firmNavigator Ltd. was hired to work for both Ghomeshi and the CBC.[45]
In early summer of 2014, reporterJesse Brown contacted the CBC and warned that Ghomeshi's behaviour may have crossed into his work environment.[44] The corporation investigated and concluded that there were no workplace complaints against Ghomeshi.[44] According to an investigation byCBC Television'sThe Fifth Estate, "almost all known staffers on ...Q said they were not contacted by CBC management as part of any investigation".[46] Ghomeshi denied the accusations again and theStar declined to go forward with the story at that time.[44]
In October 2014, Brown tweeted that he was working on a story that would be "worse than embarrassing for certain parties".[45] He later said that he was referring to an unrelated story, but Ghomeshi requested a meeting with CBC management on October 23.[45] During that meeting, the CBC viewed what it later described as "graphic evidence that Jian had caused physical injury to a woman".[44] According toVice, Ghomeshi showed his bosses lewd text messages on a CBC-owned phone and graphic personal sex videos.[47]
On October 24, Ghomeshi announced he was taking an indefinite leave of absence from the CBC to deal with personal matters.[48] Two days later, the CBC terminated his employment,[35] with a spokesperson saying "information came to our attention recently that in CBC's judgment precludes us from continuing our relationship with Jian".[35] Ghomeshi subsequently released a "lengthyFacebook post"[49] saying his dismissal was motivated by fear of an allegedsmear campaign by an ex-girlfriend that according to Ghomeshi could release private details about his sex life.[50] Ghomeshi also said he refused an offer by the CBC to "walk away quietly".[46] Chris Boyce, the head of CBC Radio, denied that such an offer was made.[46]
Ghomeshi filed a $55 million lawsuit against the CBC, alleging that the corporation misused "personal and confidential information provided to it in confidence".[51] He also filed "a union grievance allegingwrongful dismissal anddefamation",[52] and stated through his lawyer that he "does not engage in non-consensualrole play or sex and any suggestion of the contrary is defamatory".[53] Ghomeshi withdrew his lawsuit on November 25, 2014.[54] The terms of settlement stipulated that Ghomeshi pay the CBC $18,000 in legal costs.[54]
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Ghomeshi's literary debut,1982, is a creative non-fiction title, about that year of his youth. It was released on September 18, 2012.[55] It is a memoir of Ghomeshi's life at the age of 14 (during 1982) growing up as a Persian-Canadian in Thornhill, his attempt to fit in as one of the few non-white kids in his neighbourhood, and his goal of mimicking his idol David Bowie.[14][56]
1982 received a mixed reception from critics. Canadian poet, novelist and TV writerZoe Whittall called it a "funny, nostalgic and compelling read, especially for music nerds of a certain age."[14] Stephen Carlick criticized the book, saying that Ghomeshi's attempt to appeal to the varied audience that listened toQ made it "uneven and often tedious" to read, making the reader question who the book was for after the prologue, which Carlick referred to as "1982 for Dummies".[56] Carlick also noted that "Ghomeshi is a nice guy ... inoffensive and genial", but the book, by "trying to appeal to everyone", is spread "too thin".[56]
In October 2014 his publisher,Penguin Random House Canada, announced that it would not publish his second book "in light of recent events" following allegations of sexual abuse.[44][57]
In September 2018,[58]The New York Review of Books published "Reflections from a Hashtag", a 3,000-word essay by Ghomeshi.[59] The essay drew a "storm of criticism" from major figures in the literary world, an apology from the magazine, and the late-September firing of editorIan Buruma.[60] On October 25, the magazine's editors acknowledged that the essay generated "considerable criticism from readers" and admitted to "failures in the presentation and editing of his story". The editors wrote that readers should have been informed about the "serious nature and number of allegations against Mr. Ghomeshi"[61] and they added a summary of these allegations to the online version of the essay.[59]
In response to Ghomeshi's essay,Jesse Brown wrote onCanadaland: "The piece is filled with inaccuracies, omissions, evasions, and mischaracterizations about what he [Ghomeshi] did, what he is alleged to have done, and what happened to him as a result—much of which are matters of public record." Brown added that while "The New York Review of Books presented Ghomeshi's essay under the grave cover headline 'THE FALL OF MEN'", the "fall of Jian Ghomeshi is not indicative of the fall of men, mankind, masculinity, or anything so dire. It was the fall of one man who, by his own admission, was hurting people and abusing his power".[62]
In April 2017, Ghomeshi launchedThe Ideation Project, a music andpodcast series featuring all-original words, music, recordings and production by Ghomeshi commenting on cultural and newsworthy topics.[63] Ghomeshi launchedThe Ideation Project with a monologue called "Exiles" on the topic of what it means to not have a homeland.[64] The podcast was discontinued after one season.
Since 2020, Ghomeshi has been the executive producer and host ofRoqe, an English-language podcast aimed at theIranian diaspora.[65]
On November 26, 2014, following his termination by the CBC, Ghomeshi turned himself in to theToronto Police Service and was charged with four counts ofsexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking, after an investigation that began on October 31, 2014. The charges concerned three separate women.[66][67] He appeared in court on the same day[66][68] and was released on $100,000bail on the conditions that he surrender his passport, stay within Ontario and live with his mother.[69]
Ghomeshi appeared in court again on January 8, 2015, and was charged with three additional counts of sexual assault related to three more women.[69][70] In a court appearance on February 26, 2015, a judicial pretrial was set for March 27, 2015,[71][72] and was later put over to April 28, 2015.[73] His lawyer,Marie Henein, stated that he would plead not guilty to all charges.[74] On October 1, 2015, Ghomeshi pleaded not guilty to one count of choking and four counts of sexual assault.[75]
Ghomeshi's trial began on February 1, 2016, and lasted eight days.[76][77] Henein was able to access thousands of messages between Ghomeshi's accusers and presented them during the trial.[78] Judge William Horkins stated that the complainants had provided what he described as "deceptive and manipulative" evidence,[79] claiming the "inconsistency" and "outright deception" of the witnesses' testimony had irreparably weakened theprosecution's case.[80] On March 24, 2016, the judgeacquitted Ghomeshi of all charges on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to establish proof beyond areasonable doubt.[80]
A second trial for one additional charge was scheduled for June 2016. On May 11, 2016, however,the Crown withdrew the last remaining charge over the alleged sexual assault againstKathryn Borel, a producer ofQ, after Ghomeshi signed apeace bond. The publication ban as to the name of the victim, Borel, was lifted that same day. According to Borel, Henein approached Borel's representation to ask for an alternative to a trial,[81] and after several exchanges Ghomeshi agreed to apologize to Borel and did so formally.[82] "A peace bond is an order from a court that typically involves keeping good behaviour and a prohibition on contacting the complainant," lawyers told the CBC. "The signing of a peace bond is not an admission of having committed a crime."[82]
In 2022, actressSarah Polley accused Ghomeshi of sexually assaulting her on a date in 1995, when she was 16 and he was 28. Polley made the accusation in her autobiographical essay collectionRun Towards the Danger, in which she wrote that she had wanted to come forward about her experiences in 2014 but was dissuaded by family and friends from speaking out.[83][84]
'No workplace friendship or creative environment excuses this sort of behaviour, especially when there's a power imbalance as there was with Ms. Borel,' Ghomeshi told the court.
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| National | |
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