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MONTRÉAL — Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon testified Wednesday that he had consensual relations with three of the nine women suing him for sexual assault and misconduct.
On his third day of testimony during his civil trial for sexual assault, Rozon began to respond to the allegations against him. The nine women are seeking nearly $14 million in damages over alleged sexual abuse.
He was first questioned in the case of Annick Charette, the only complainant whose case was previously tried in criminal court. Charette claims that Rozon raped her in 1980, but he was acquitted in 2020 on the basis of reasonable doubt.
On Wednesday, Rozon said Charette initiated a sexual encounter with him. He also claimed to have had the consent of two other complainants, who both allege that he raped them.
Rozon also denied having any relationship with Guylaine Courcelles, a former Just for Laughs employee who has accused him of sexually assaulting her in 1987, calling an incident she described “pure fabrication.” He has previously also denied the other allegations against him.
Earlier in the day, the disgraced former comedy mogul said rumours of sexual misconduct allegations cost his company $30 million in a matter of hours before the allegations became public in October 2017.
Rozon detailed the “carnage” he said Just for Laughs suffered after Quebec newspaper Le Devoir and radio station 98.5 FM published an investigation of the allegations.
He described the atmosphere at Just for Laughs in the hours leading up to the article’s publication as “cataclysmic.”
“The company, which was in very good shape, is about to implode,” he said, as governments froze subsidies and sponsors followed suit in response to what were still just rumours.
Quebec media giant Québecor also notified Just for Laughs that it was severing business ties between the two companies, which were in the process of finalizing a major five-year deal, worth up to $20 million, for television broadcasting rights and other related activities.
“There was already a bonfire and I was already being burned,” Rozon said.
He said rumours surrounding the upcoming revelations caused a capital outflow of around $30 million from Just for Laughs between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. the day before the investigation was published.
Rozon said he could have gone bankrupt at that point, but that he “would rather die personally than let the company die.”
He therefore had to resign immediately, prepare a statement for publication on social media, and start looking for a buyer as quickly as possible.
“It was carnage around me,” Gilbert Rozon recalled, as comedians disassociated themselves from the Just for Laughs Festival to create their own parallel event. He said his sons fell into depression, as did several of his colleagues, and that his mother died within a few months.
Rozon’s testimony on Wednesday began with a review of his lifestyle, during which he admitted to regularly taking microdoses of ecstasy during periods of intense activity to help him function.
His lawyer also questioned him about his 1998 guilty plea to an allegation of sexual assault, for which he was subsequently granted an unconditional discharge. Rozon stated he was reluctantly persuaded to plead guilty by his family. His version of events differs from the facts admitted in court at the time.
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.
The case has heard from dozens of witnesses, including the nine complainants and seven other women who all claimed to have suffered sexual abuse by Rozon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.
Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press
