Host Julie Snyder keeps her head held high and says she is ready to tell the court about her alleged assault, since she failed in her request to have the defamation proceedings brought against her by Gilbert Rozon declared a SLAPP.
“No matter what, I will stand up and tell the truth. I will therefore continue to exercise my freedom of expression,” said Julie Snyder, in an interview with The duty.
The host is the subject of a $ 450,000 defamation lawsuit filed in October 2020 by the founder of Just for Laughs against her and radio host Penelope McQuade.
“I’m being asked to go to trial, I’m going to go and I’ll have to tell what happened,” she drops in a resigned voice.
During his broadcast The week of the 4 JuliesSeptember 29, 2020, Julie Snyder explained that she was inspired by her guest, Pénélope McQuade, who published a text in the collective book release the anger. Mme Snyder announced that he wanted to respond to a statement made in February 2018 by Gilbert Rozon to a journalist from TVA Nouvelles “I have never made love to someone if a person said no”, he had said. “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 couldn’t say no, because I wasn’t asked,” she said.
No matter what, I will stand up and tell the truth. I will therefore continue to exercise my freedom of expression.
Mr. Rozon gave a completely different version of events during out-of-court testimony given under oath in September 2021. He said he welcomed Mr.me Snyder in her apartment in Paris when she had just separated from singer Patrick Bruel and needed “comfort”.
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. She did not respond to our interview request. On his Facebook page, Mr.me McQuade made a point last week. “Regarding my consumption of coke, I did my last line the night of my 18and anniversary after 3 years of misuse. At 26, I hadn’t done it for more than 8 years. Worse, I already talked about it on the radio a few years ago. Just in case you believe what you’re reading these days,” she wrote.
“Silence”
Before the highest court in the province, the lawyers for the two hosts pleaded last week that, by Mr. Rozon’s own admission, this lawsuit is intended to silence them. The founder of Just for Laughs also explained in September 2021 that he no longer wanted to be the “rug 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”.
Mr. Rozon maintains for his part that they had “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. The ex-comedy mogul also addressed how he experienced the whistleblowing wave 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.
Mr. Rozon did not respond to our interview request. Remember that he 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.