Hosts Julie Snyder and Pénélope McQuade will not be able to plead on appeal that the defamation proceedings undertaken against them by Gilbert Rozon are intended to gag them.
“It is difficult for me to conclude, at first glance, that the freedom of expression of the applicants or even of other people is being limited,” judge Mark Schrager of the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled on Friday.
Just for Laughs founder sued Julie Snyder and Penelope McQuade for defamation after they opened up about their experiences on the show The week of the 4 JuliesSeptember 29, 2020. The two facilitators believe for their part that the ex-mogul of humor is trying to intimidate them and send a “deterrent” message to victims of sexual violence who dare to denounce.
Before the highest court in the province, their lawyers argued that, by Mr. Rozon’s own admission, this lawsuit is intended to silence them. It is that the founder of Just for Laughs explained in September 2021, during an off-course testimony delivered under oath, that he no longer wanted to be the “carpet on which everyone wipes their feet”. According to the two women, this demonstrates that his sole purpose is “to intimidate, silence and [les] muzzle [alors que]like many other women, [elles] had the courage to publicly denounce his inadmissible behavior”.
For his part, Mr. Rozon maintains that the two women “orchestrated” everything to “influence the judicial system” a few days before his criminal trial for the alleged rape of Annick Charette, at the end of which he was finally acquitted.
However, the decision of the Court of Appeal is not on the merits of the case. The two women hoped to avoid having to testify and to see all the legal proceedings publicized. Their request for recognition of abusive prosecution (SLAPP) had already been rejected by Judge Yves Poirier, of the Superior Court; they then turned to the Court of Appeal. This was also the first request of this type in a context of defamation in connection with allegations of sexual assault.
Remember that Mr. Rozon is the target of several civil lawsuits. Six women have filed lawsuits totaling more than $9 million, including actress Patricia Tulasne, director Lyne Charlebois, artist Danie Frenette, plaintiff Annick Charette, as well as Anne-Marie Charette and Sophie Moreau.