Over the weekend CBC announced that they'd ended their relationship with longtime broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi, former Moxy Früvous member and longtime pillar of the Canadian indie music scene. The CBC's statement: "The CBC is saddened to announce its relationship with Jian Ghomeshi has come to an end. This decision was not made without serious deliberation and careful consideration. Jian has made an immense contribution to the CBC and we wish him well." Rumor had it that Ghomeshi's firing had to do with some sort of sexual allegations, and Ghomeshi's response via Facebook confirmed those suspicions. Ghomeshi wrote that he'd done nothing wrong, that he enjoys BDSM practices and that a jilted ex-girlfriend who'd joined him in such practices was colluding with a Toronto journalist to organize a smear campaign. An excerpt from his Facebook post:
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.
Not long after Ghomeshi's post went up, The Toronto Star reported that four women had accused him of beating them during sexual encounters.
In the days since Ghomeshi's dismissal, a number of musicians have spoken out. Ghomeshi is scheduled to be a guest at Amanda Palmer's Toronto performance on 11/25 at Lee's Palace; Palmer announced on Facebook yesterday that "of course" Ghomeshi would still be a part of the show. In a series of Facebook comments screencapped by Twitter user Charles Brokowski, Palmer wrote that "what happens behind closed doors is never knowable." Regarding her plans for the performance, she wrote: "honestly, like the rest of the nights/guests on the tour, we're going to talk about whatever we feel like. It looks like Jian is having a pretty rough month any way you slice it. maybe we can talk about how hard it is to live in public, regardless of whether people think you're a hero or a villain. or maybe we'll just talk about our favorite eighties bands. I'm looking forward to the tour a lot for this reason. there are. no. plans."
https://twitter.com/austratalks/status/527663074484817920
