Jian Ghomeshi, English-Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and radio host
Jian Ghomeshi (born June 9, 1967) is a Persian-Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and former CBC Radio broadcaster.
From 1990 to 2000, he was a vocalist and drummer in the Thornhill-based folk-pop band Moxy Früvous. In the 2000s, he became a television and radio broadcaster. He hosted, among others, the CBC Newsworld TV show >play (2002–2005), the CBC Radio One radio show The National Playlist (2005–2006), and the CBC Radio One show Q, which he co-created and hosted from 2007 to 2014, until he was fired by CBC. Q, which features interviews with prominent cultural and entertainment figures, became the highest rated show in its timeslot in CBC history.In 2014 and 2015, Ghomeshi was the subject of allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment and was later arrested. In late 2015, Ghomeshi pleaded not guilty to the charges and his trial began in early 2016. He was acquitted of five of the charges on March 24, 2016. On May 11, 2016, the Crown withdrew the last remaining charge after Ghomeshi signed a peace bond and apologized to his accuser. In April 2017, Ghomeshi launched a new online venture, "The Ideation Project". On October 11, 2018, Ghomeshi's essay titled "Reflections from a Hashtag" was published in The New York Review of Books, which led to widespread criticism for the magazine.