I take it back: it’s not looking good for Jian Ghomeshi

POSTED ON October 30, 2014 BY Shannon Nelson
CATEGORY Stories,

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Since Ghomeshi-gate broke last Friday, the media have been pumping out a myriad of takes on the scandalous story. Initially, many in the world of celebrity and politics (Elizabeth May - my Gawd what a shit-show that was) sided with Ghomeshi, or at least made the statement that his sexual proclivities should not impact his merit as a radio broadcaster.

A friend remarked that it was interesting that a country so beautifully united after the shooting of an innocent soldier in Ottawa could be so divided a week later by a sex scandal.

In any event, in the last 24 hours the story has broadened, with the addition of 4 more women (there are now 8 by my count) alleging that Ghomeshi was physically violent with them, without their consent. One of the women, Lucy DeCoutere, a Canadian actress best known for her work on Trailer Park Boys decided it was time to go public with her story.

Two more of the women were CBC employees, and their story aired last night on the CBC’s As It Happens.

I can only imagine how Ghomeshi’s gut must be churning in the wake of these new allegations.

The stories all have similar themes - the women allege that Ghomeshi physically assaulted them, pulling their hair, choking, punching and slapping them hard, some to the point of bruising, without their consent. Two of the women who allege they were assaulted in Ghomeshi's home reference a stuffed animal named "Big Ears Teddy" that the radio host introduced them to, turning the bear away from the alleged violent activity and saying "Big Ears Teddy shouldn't see this". Seriously.

And apparently there’s more to come, on ‘The Current’ this morning and ‘The National’ tomorrow night, both CBC programs. I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I wrote about this story this past Monday after several Facebook friends posted messages of support. At that time, I felt that anything was possible, including Ghomeshi’s Facebook claim that he was being raked over the coals by a cranky ex-girlfriend. I concluded that I doubted his career would be over either way.

However, as allegations continue to mount against Jian Ghomeshi, his charm and talent as a broadcaster are losing their lustre, even for his diehard fans. At this point, I’m having a hard time imagining the tide of public opinion turning in Jian Ghomeshi’s favour.

I think he may be toast.

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson is an accomplished writer, interviewer, and radio and television host, formerly with CFUN, VisionTV, the Biography Channel and CBC Television. Before starting a family in the early 80's, Shannon was a stock broker at Pemberton Securities and Canarim Securities (now Canaccord). She is the mother of CEO.ca founder Tommy Humphreys. More →

pinkynel@gmail.com

Shannon Nelson

pinkynel@gmail.com

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