
Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon begins testimony in sex-assault trial
Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon has begun his testimony in his civil trial on allegations of sexual assault.
Rozon, 70, testified for nearly an hour at the courthouse in Montreal on Monday afternoon, giving a lengthy recounting of his childhood and the early stages of his career in show business.
His testimony is expected to continue over several days in the coming weeks in a Quebec Superior Court civil trial that began in December.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The Quebec impresario is being sued by nine women for a total of nearly $14 million in damages over allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.
All of the women suing him have testified about their experiences and faced cross-examination. The case has heard from dozens of witnesses, including from seven other women who have also claimed that Rozon sexually abused them.
Story continues below advertisement
Rozon has always denied the allegations against him, though he did not address the allegations during his testimony on Monday.
The civil lawsuit is the latest in a winding legal battle that began as a class action but was converted into individual suits after a 2020 Quebec Court of Appeal ruling.
Also in 2020, a Quebec court judge found Rozon not guilty of rape and indecent assault connected to events alleged to have taken place in 1980 involving Annick Charette, who obtained a court order to make her identity public.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Father of child killed in Horseshoe Bay crash spreads love in letter ‘from his son'
The grieving father of a young boy killed in Horseshoe Bay last week is calling for compassion and love to be spread in the community. Leonardo Machado, four, was struck at a bus stop in Horseshoe Bay when he, his mother and a family friend were returning from a day trip to Bowen Island. The collision happened around 3:30 p.m. on May 28, at the bus stop just outside the BC Ferries foot passenger ticket booth. Witnesses say a TransLink bus jumped the curb, striking several people. Leonardo was the only child of his mother, Silvana de Oliveira Schramm and father, Clineu Machado. In an update posted to GoFundMe on Tuesday, Machado said that de Oliveira Schramm remains in stable condition and has undergone surgery on Wednesday. Story continues below advertisement However, it is a dangerous surgery, he wrote, so his wife will need more blood as they work to stabilize her pelvis and determine whether she needs to undergo skin grafts. 3:23 Memorial growing at scene of deadly Horseshoe Bay bus crash Machado also wanted to share a message through his son's eyes. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Since I was born my parents always use buses to go everywhere in this city with my stroller along and I started falling in love with buses and Skytrains,' Machado wrote. 'Every time a bus was coming or a Skytrain was showing close my father tells me: 'Look Leo … look the bus … the bus … and I laugh and laugh because I just love them so much.' Machado said his son loved going to wait at the bus stop and watch the buses going by. Story continues below advertisement He said his son loved Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse and Cocomelon. 'You must be sad and I'm too, when you heard about the Horseshoe Bay accident and on(e) of my best friends, the bus, separate me from my best friend in life, yes … my Mom,' Machado wrote. 'We were inseparable and went everyday out to enjoy Vancouver.' Machado added that buses are meant to connect people, not separate them, so he wants the community's help to spread love and compassion. 'First, in order to help relieve some of the pain, if you can bring a flower to my friends that drove me around this beautiful city for almost 5 years!' he wrote. 'Ask their names and how they are doing ! Buy them a coffee if you can because they are my heroes ! 'My friends who drove me throughout the city are devastated and impacted by what happened with me, and I want to thank them for all the enjoyment they provided me, and help to bring back love and confidence into their hands and that they continue driving all of us safely and comfortably and lovely!' 2:15 Investigation underway after child killed, mother critically injured by West Vancouver bus Machado said he knows his wife will miss their son deeply and if people wanted to bring flowers to the 'heroes' at Vancouver General Hospital and keep her in their prayers, that would go a long way. Story continues below advertisement 'I hope I never have to use 1 cent that has been donated here for my mom and she gets better and happy as she always was everyday before,' Machado wrote in the GoFundMe. 'This is what I want more than anything and for my father. He has suffered too much loss in his life.' Machado wrote that his son would like to make bus stops better with more shelter and maybe build a small memorial at Horseshoe Bay that will bring some happiness and joy to that place. He added that more than anything, he wants his wife to get better. 'I would like you to visualize my Mom healthy, happy and walking again. And as you picture this image, you really believe this is going to happen and this makes you happy as well.'


Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
32 guns seized as part of $7M Ontario fentanyl bust, most weapons came from U.S.
Police in York Region say they arrested 23 people from across southern Ontario while seizing more than $7 million in fentanyl after a seven-month investigation dubbed Project Chatter. Police also seized 32 guns as well as a number of other items, with a majority of those weapons coming from the U.S. 'Thirty-two illegal firearms that were taken off the streets,' he said. 'And of the 24 that we've received tracing information back so far, 23 come back as originating in the United States of America, with one from here in Canada.' The investigation began in October 2024, when officers began investigating the activities surrounding a 31-year-old man from Richmond Hill who was allegedly a 'key player' in drug trafficking throughout the GTA, according to Det. Sgt. Sean Whittaker. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'As the investigation progressed, officers uncovered a sophisticated criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of both raw and street-ready fentanyl, as well as firearms, across the region,' Whittaker told reporters Wednesday. Story continues below advertisement 'Recognizing the threat that this posed, an internal task force dubbed Project Chatter was established to aggressively target and dismantle this network. 'Project Chatter uncovered a network that was highly organized and well-equipped.' Whittaker said that the investigation revealed 'key suppliers, distribution hubs, and locations believed to be cooking or cutting fentanyl for street-level sale.' He noted that most of the operations were in Richmond Hill, but there were other locations throughout the Greater Toronto Area as well. This investigation led to 200 officers raiding 15 homes on May 4 where they seized 32 illegal firearms and a large quantity of drugs, including over 700,000 doses of fentanyl with a street value of over $7 million, and seized more than $130,000 in Canadian currency and $18,000 in American currency. Since then, police say they have laid more than more than 300 drug, weapon and organized crime charges against 23 people from across the GTA, Brantford and Niagara Falls. 3:02 'Canada must be secure': New border bill gives new powers to CBSA officers, police, postal workers, Health Canada


Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Diddy trial: Witness testifies Combs dangled her from a high-rise balcony
A graphic designer testified Wednesday that she was so traumatized after Sean 'Diddy' Combs held her over a 17th-floor apartment balcony that she sometimes screamed in her sleep afterward. Bryana 'Bana' Bongolan, 33, a friend of Combs' former longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura, said the 2016 assault at Ventura's Los Angeles apartment caused a bruise on the back of her leg, along with back and neck pain. It also left her emotionally scarred, she told the jury. 'I have night terrors and paranoia and I would scream in my sleep sometimes,' said Bongolan, a creative and marketing director who runs her own art agency. Her testimony came in the fourth week of evidence presentation by prosecutors as they seek to prove that Combs oversaw a racketeering organization composed of his employees and associates as he physically and sexually abused women for two decades. Story continues below advertisement Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and other charges that, if convicted, could send him to prison for 15 years to life. Day 15 Bongolan is the latest woman to testify that the hip-hop mogul acted violently toward her and Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, who already testified for four days about the abuse she incurred. Other witnesses described seeing him physically abusing women. Ventura testified that she saw Combs bring one of her friends back over the railing of a balcony at her apartment in the early morning. 3:11 Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial: Prosecutors release 2016 hotel assault video Ventura said she was asleep in her room when she awoke to the episode. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I saw him bring her back over the railing of the balcony and then throw her onto the patio furniture,' Ventura testified. Story continues below advertisement When Bongolan recalled the attack, she said Combs barged into Ventura's apartment, lifted her up and put her on the rail. She said she feared that she would plummet to her death as she pushed back against Combs. 'I was scared to fall,' she said. Combs was yelling at her throughout the ordeal, Bongolan said, estimating he held her over the railing for 10 to 15 seconds. She said Combs then threw her onto balcony furniture. Adrenaline helped her power through the ordeal, Bongolan said. She recalled getting up immediately after being thrown down. Bongolan said Ventura, who was sleeping in the bedroom, then came out and asked Combs: 'Did you just hang her over the balcony?' Told that Bongolan's ex-girlfriend was also in the apartment, Combs swiftly left, Bongolan said. Story continues below advertisement Bongolan said she has lasting effects from Combs assaulting her. 'I have nightmares and I have a lot of paranoia and I used to scream a lot in my sleep, but it's dissipated a little bit,' she testified. Part of her paranoia, she said, includes opening doors carefully and peeking into rooms before going inside, and she added that she had a nightmare as recently as a few days ago. Bongolan said Combs gave her drugs on three or four occasions, including ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and G, a substance she understood was the depressant GHB. She said she also did drugs about once a week with Ventura when Combs wasn't around. Bongolan, testifying in response to a subpoena from prosecutors, was granted immunity after she initially said she would refuse to answer questions and invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. She was at least the third witness given immunity to testify. What Combs is on trial for U.S. prosecutors allege that for 20 years, behind the scenes, Combs was coercing and abusing women with help from a network of associates who helped silence victims through blackmail and violence. Combs faces an indictment that includes descriptions of 'freak-offs,' which are defined in the court doc as 'elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded.' Story continues below advertisement Numerous witnesses have come forward to accuse Combs of terrorizing people into silence by choking, hitting, kicking and dragging them, according to prosecutors. One indictment alleges that Combs dangled someone from a balcony. 1:37 Sean 'Diddy' Combs to fight charges with 'all of his energy' Although dozens of men and women have alleged in lawsuits that Combs abused them, this trial will highlight the claims of four women. Combs is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has denied all the charges against him and has rejected a plea deal, choosing to go to trial instead. If found guilty in the New York court, he could face life in prison. — Day 15 testimony Day 14 testimony Day 13 testimony Story continues below advertisement Day 12 testimony Day 11 testimony — Global News will be covering the Diddy trial in its entirety. Please check back for updates.