The founder of Just for Laughs, Gilbert Rozon, admits to having been a “ladies’ man”, but maintains that he never sexually assaulted those who denounced him in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
” [Avec ce mouvement]we are not far from the Middle Ages and pillorying people, ”said Mr. Rozon during an out-of-court examination in view of the defamation lawsuit he brought against hosts Julie Snyder and Pénélope McQuade. .
For two days last September, Mr. Rozon gave a sworn testimony in which he discussed how he experienced the wave of denunciations of 2017. “These are our new heroes, the victims. […] Today, a heroic act is to be a victim,” reads the more than 500-page transcript.
In the fall of 2017, Mr. Rozon was targeted by nine women, who told the Homeworkas well as at 98.5 FM, to have been victims of harassment and sexual assault on his part.
“I thought that the allegations […] were of a nature that I could have been a little “uncle” by telling a girl that I found her beautiful or things like that, because we know today that an assault is defined by a simple insistent look or [par le fait] to look at a woman’s bodice, so I thought it was of that nature,” he said.
Mr. Rozon said he hoped that this “societal phenomenon” could be “rebalanced” over time.
“Light Attracts”
The 67-year-old admits to having been “a ladies’ man”. “I loved them”, he agreed, while specifying that this need to please was especially present from 28 to 40 years old. According to him, the women who alleged that they were assaulted by him did so for attention. “Light attracts,” he said. Are they all liars? “I don’t want to say horrible things about people who in some cases may believe their story, in some cases may want to take revenge for a situation, to gain publicity, to make money, money is also a big engine, jealousy too, ”he replied.
Mr Rozon has filed a lawsuit against Julie Snyder and Penelope McQuade, who have both come back to what they claim to have experienced, on the show The week of the 4 Juliesin September 2020.
Mme Snyder claimed that Mr. Rozon sexually assaulted her while she slept more than 20 years ago in Paris. The host explained that she was inspired by her guest, Penelope McQuade, and wanted to respond to a statement made in February 2018 by Mr. Rozon. He then said to a journalist from TVA Nouvelles: “I have never made love to someone if a person said no”. “I would just like to tell Gilbert Rozon that I couldn’t say no to him, because it happened while I was sleeping. I slept in a place where there were people from Just for Laughs […]. I could not say no, because I was not asked, ”launched the host live.
Influencing the judicial system
When the statements of the two facilitators were taken up in various media, Mr. Rozon said he understood that they were trying to “influence the judicial system”. It was that he was to undergo his criminal trial for rape and indecent assault a few days later.
“I was afraid that it would have an influence, indeed, on public opinion and, as a result, I don’t know, I didn’t even know which judge would judge me,” he said.Have
Recall that he was finally acquitted in December 2020 at the end of his criminal trial for the alleged rape of Annick Charette. The trial focused on events that occurred 40 years ago in Saint-Sauveur, in the Laurentians.
Mr. Rozon explained that he made the decision for the first time to bring a civil lawsuit, because he no longer wanted to be the “rug on which everyone wipes their feet”.
He delivered a completely different version of the events told by the two hosts. In the case of Julie Snyder, he says he welcomed her into his apartment in Paris when she had just separated from singer Patrick Bruel and needed “comfort”. “She invited herself to my house, she arrived with a kind of overcoat, underneath, she was dressed very lightly, tights or whatever […]obviously she was getting out of bed or from a meeting […]. He maintained that he never considered Mme Snyder as a friend, but more like an acquaintance. He also mentioned that their relationship has always been professional.
Asked about several details of this meeting, Mr. Rozon argued that it was difficult for him to remember with such precision the event, which dates back more than 30 years. He indicated that his brother and his assistant were present and that they could testify to his statements.
As for M.me McQuade, Mr. Rozon claimed that she “is in the wrong guy”. She had maintained that he threw himself on her in a toilet in 1997. He recalled the incident, but claimed he thought she was on drugs. Surprised, he said he quickly came out.
The two facilitators had filed a request to have Mr. Rozon’s proceedings declared SLAPP. The Superior Court rejected their request, but they appealed.
The Court of Appeal is expected to announce Friday whether it will hear their case.