Show business sex scandals hit Quebec
Two of province’s biggest stars fall from grace
MONTREAL • With blanket media coverage and awards shows aplenty, Quebec has long raised its homegrown show-business stars onto a pedestal.
So when in less than 24 hours two of the province’s biggest stars were brought crashing down by allegations of sexual misconduct, the shock waves spread all the way to the National Assembly.
On Wednesday morning, TV and radio host and producer Éric Salvail — winner this year of the Artis Award as Quebec’s most popular male TV personality — was the subject of a La Presse investigation alleging that he sexually harassed 11 male and female colleagues. Within hours Salvail’s shows were cancelled and his entertainment empire had crumbled.
Wednesday night, Le Devoir and FM 98.5 reported that nine women from the entertainment world had come forward to complain of harassment and assault by Gilbert Rozon, president and founder of the Just for Laughs comedy festival. He announced he was stepping down immediately.
In Quebec City, opposition Parti Québécois leader Jean-François Lisée, spoke of an “important social change” as powerful, popular people “learn that unacceptable actions will no longer be accepted.”
Hélène David, minister responsible for the Status of Women, said the “MeToo” hashtag sparked by Hollywood’s Harvey Weinstein scandal had generated a “social hurricane” in Quebec. Anticipating a deluge of additional complaints, she announced an immediate $1 million in aid for groups working with sexual-assault victims.
La Presse reported that Salvail would expose himself to or grab the genitals of men in whom he was interested. Le Devoir recounted the stories of women, some in their teens, who said they were assaulted or harassed by Rozon.
In both the Salvail and Rozon cases, industry insiders now say their alleged misconduct was an open secret. In fact, Rozon pleaded guilty to sexual assault in 1998 for drunkenly fondling a woman’s breasts. He received an unconditional discharge so the conviction would not interfere with the travel required for his work.
“In the Quebec show-business world, everyone knew that Gilbert Rozon had these sorts of practices,” the journalist and author Denise Bombardier told Le Parisien. “It’s a small world and everyone knows each other.”
But it took the revelations about film producer Weinstein and the subsequent social-media movement encouraging people to denounce their aggressors for the floodgates to open.
The fall from grace was swift. Rozon, 62, announced on Facebook Wednesday night that he was resigning from the operations of Just for Laughs and from his roles as commissioner of Montreal’s 375th anniversary celebration and vicepresident of the Montreal Board of Trade. In France, a TV talent show on which Rozon is a judge was pulled from the air.
“Shaken by the allegations against me, I want to devote my time to taking stock,” he wrote on Facebook. “To all those I may have offended in the course of my life, I am sincerely sorry.”
His departure is a blot on Just For Laughs, which bills itself as the world’s leading comedy brand and has more than 100 permanent employees. “I assure all our financial partners and sponsors that we will continue to honour all our partnerships and intend to deliver, as planned, the next editions of our various events,” Rozon’s replacement, Guylaine Lalonde, said in a statement.
Salvail, who was stripped of his shows and advertising deals Wednesday, also turned to Facebook. In a message Thursday he acknowledged the harm he had caused and apologized for his “inappropriate behaviour.” He said he is leaving his production company and taking an indefinite break from show business.
Quebec’s Union des Artistes has seen a sharp increase in calls from members reporting abuse or harassment, the union’s president, Sophie Prégent, told Radio-Canada Thursday. She said Salvail and Rozon are not likely the end of the story. “There are other names that are going to come out in the near future,” she said.
The controversy has left observers wondering where the hurricane would touch down next, and an answer came Thursday afternoon. Cogeco Média announced that the popular Quebec City radio host Gilles Parent has been taken off the air until further notice after the Journal de Québec reported allegations of sexual harassment brought forward by four female co-workers.