Three new lawsuits totaling $4.5 million were filed Friday against Gilbert Rozon by women who worked with him. They accuse him of sexually assaulting them. Among them, his former sister-in-law Martine Roy.
The events alleged against the former humor magnate span the past three decades.
Martine Roy, sister of Danielle Roy, the ex-wife of Mr. Rozon, claims to have been assaulted twice by her former brother-in-law in the 1990s. She claims 1.35 million dollars from him.
She says that in 1993, she was hired to be the driver and accompanist of pianist Charles Trenet during a visit to Quebec. After a show at the Capitole de Québec, Gilbert Rozon reportedly went to his sister-in-law’s hotel room. Believing he wanted to talk about the artist, she mentions letting him in.
“She sits next to her brother-in-law on the bed to chat. Suddenly and without asking her consent, [Gilbert Rozon] puts his hands on [elle]takes her arm, tries to kiss her on the mouth. [Elle] resists, manages to push him away, gets up and asks him to leave, which he does,” reads the motion filed at the Montreal courthouse. Since he had consumed alcohol, she writes that she believed it was “a mistake along the way” and that it would not happen again.
Mme Roy testifies to a second attack where she would have been “brutally raped”. She was then hired as deputy director of the Just for Laughs Museum. His brother-in-law would have invited him to discuss in a box during an exhibition. “He locks the door behind him […] From that moment, everything happens very quickly. [Gilbert Rozon] turns towards her and, without worrying about her desire or her consent, knowing moreover her homosexuality, he turns her around so that her back is to him. [Il] then pull down the panties [Mme Roy]. She turns her head and sees his penis. She freezes completely, ”it is mentioned.
After this alleged “brutal rape”, she indicates that she went to a clinic to do screening tests since Gilbert Rozon would not have protected himself.
Vigilance and trap
Marylena Sicari was assistant accountant for Les Films Rozon and Les Productions Rozon from 1988 to 2004 and accuses Gilbert Rozon of having harassed and sexually assaulted her on “countless occasions”. She claims 1.25 million dollars.
She says she had to change her phone number because of his insistence on going out with her and claims to have confided in one of Gilbert Rozon’s sisters to ask her to intervene. Marylena Sicari maintains that Mr. Rozon subsequently began to rub shoulders with her as soon as he met her in the office. She alleges that he was sliding his hand down her buttocks. She would have stopped taking the elevator for fear of finding herself alone with him.
The third woman to sue the founder of Just for Laughs worked as an assistant for the festival which was held in the summer of 1987. In the fall, Mr. Rozon reportedly invited Guylaine Courcelles to chat and get to know her better and see if he would have another job to offer her.
She says she agreed, even though she was uncomfortable that it was done outside working hours, but she was interested in discussing her future. Mme Courcelles thought he was going to a restaurant, but Gilbert Rozon allegedly claimed to have to stop at his place because of an electrical problem. He would have mentioned to her that he had to light the fireplaces to heat the house. Mr. Rozon’s wife was traveling at the time, the petition reads.
Once at their destination, he would have told her that they didn’t need to go anywhere else since they were already there. He would have mentioned to her that he could drive her home at the end of the discussion. At the end of the evening, Mr. Rozon allegedly told her that it was too late to drive her home and that he had drunk too much. “Rather than offering to call a taxi, he argues that she will be fine in one of the guest rooms and that he will bring her back to the office the next day,” says Ms.me Courcelles. She would then have gone to bed and Gilbert Rozon would have returned to the guest room wearing only a towel at the waist and would have lain down in bed, next to her.
Mme Courcelles maintains that she struggled and turned her back on him. ” [Gilbert Rozon] sticks on her, masturbates behind her back and cums. The plaintiff is in a state of shock and she feels a deep disgust. The defendant falls asleep in the bed next to[elle] “, can we read.
The next day, he allegedly went to drive her back to the office “as if what had happened the day before was harmless”.
Targeted by nine lawsuits
With these new lawsuits, nine women have now decided to individually file a civil lawsuit against Mr. Rozon. The lawsuits now total just over $13.5 million.
Gilbert Rozon, for his part, denied having sexually assaulted the six other women who filed lawsuits, namely actress Patricia Tulasne, director Lyne Charlebois, artist Danie Frenette, plaintiff Annick Charette, Anne-Marie Charette and Sophie Moreau.
He in turn is suing Patricia Tulasne for $150,000, claiming to have had a “passionate” and “consenting” intimate relationship with her. He also filed a $450,000 defamation lawsuit in October 2020 against hosts Julie Snyder and Penelope McQuade, who both returned, on the show. The week of the 4 Juliesabout what they have been through.
The founder of Just for Laughs was acquitted last December 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.