WOW! This is an incredibly tricky situation.
The Canadian Broadcasting Company has an incredibly popular radio show called Q that is hosted by Jian Ghomeshi and they’ve never had a problem with their host until this weekend.
On Sunday, Jian was fired by the company amid allegations of sexual abuse that have surrounded the host for the past couple months.
Convinced he’s being framed, Jian tried to convinced the CBC that claims were untrue and decided to take to his Facebook page to write a posted dedicated to ‘openness and truth’ about the situation.
Some highlights of the incredibly long post said:
‘…Today I was fired from the company where I’ve been working for almost 14 years. 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….
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. 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…’
WHOA! Sounds like he’s trying to frame her as a ‘crazy ex’ who was only mad that he didn’t want to commit to her.
While we’re not saying this isn’t untrue, that type of verbiage is certainly one sided.
She could totally be telling the truth and his view of the situation could be totally different from hers!
However, the allegations are not what brought about Jian’s firing.
He continued:
‘…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.
…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…’
Certainly if the allegations are untrue and the CBC have fired him for this reason, then they’re totally in the wrong, no?
However, if the stories against Jian ARE true, then the CBC have definitely done the right thing.
Like we said, it’s totally a tricky situation…
You can read the entirety of Jian’s very long Facebook post HERE!
[Image via Steve Carty/Jian Ghomeshi/Facebook.]
-
Categories
