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National Post

Just for Laughs founder's sex-assault civil trial disrupted as accuser lashes out during break

MONTREAL — The civil trial of Gilbert Rozon was disrupted by a rare outburst on Thursday when one of the women accusing the Just for Laughs founder of sexual assault lashed out at him during a break. Article content The plaintiff's husband also allegedly grabbed Rozon and threatened to strangle him outside the courtroom after the disgraced former comedy mogul denied the woman's allegations during his testimony. Article content Article content Article content The altercation led the judge to postpone the proceedings until Friday morning. Article content Article content Rozon is being sued for nearly $14 million by nine women who accuse him of sexual assault and misconduct, including actress Danie Frenette, who alleges he raped her twice in 1988, when she was working for the Just for Laughs comedy festival. Article content Frenette's stepdaughter, actress Salome Corbo, also alleges Rozon sexually assaulted her when she was 13 years old and working at the festival. Corbo is not a plaintiff in the case, but she has testified against him. Article content On Thursday, Rozon flatly denied the allegations of both women. He said Frenette's account of the first alleged rape, which she says occurred in a wooded area on his property during a party at the end of the 1988 festival, is 'completely implausible.' Article content He also suggested Corbo only testified 'because she's Danie Frenette's stepdaughter.' Article content 'What kind of person lies like that?' Frenette shouted in an expletive-laden tirade during a break in proceedings. Article content Article content 'No class,' Rozon said quietly as he left the room. Article content Article content After Rozon left the courtroom, Stefano Corbo, Frenette's husband and Salome Corbo's father, allegedly pulled him by the ear and then grabbed him by the throat and threatened him. Article content When he returned before Judge Chantal Tremblay, Rozon claimed Corbo had told him he wanted to strangle and suffocate him. His lawyer told the judge she had to intervene between the two men, and said neither she nor her client had the 'peace of mind' to continue the proceedings. Article content The hearing was postponed until Friday morning. Tremblay also excluded Corbo from the courtroom and asked him to follow the trial remotely for the remainder of the proceedings. Article content Rozon also described the alleged attack to journalists at the Montreal courthouse, saying he was shocked by the incident. 'If he had done the same thing to a woman, physically assaulting her, where would he be today, honestly?' he said. 'I thought this was a sacred place.'