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Sarah Polley is ready to talk about Jian Ghomeshi.
The Canadian actor’s new collection of essays, Run Towards The Danger, confronts some of her most traumatic experiences, including an alleged sexual encounter with Ghomeshi, the former CBC radio host who was accused of assaulting several women. (He was acquitted of all charges in 2016.)
In her essay, The Woman Who Stayed Silent, Polley recounts the alleged sexual experience with Ghomeshi at his apartment when she was 16. She says Ghomeshi, who was 28 at the time, hurt her and ignored her requests to stop.
Ghomeshi has not publicly responded to Polley’s claims as of this writing.
In an interview with CBC, Polley said she considered coming out with her story during Ghomeshi’s 2016 trial, but was dissuaded by lawyers who told her she’d be a “terrible” witness due to holes in her story, as well as subsequent interactions with the radio host on his show.
In her book, she reflects on later interactions with Ghomeshi, including flirting with and flattering him when their paths would cross, as well as laughing with him on his radio show, “as though he has just made the best joke of all time.”
Polley told Now Toronto that she turned her Ghomeshi encounter into a funny bad-date story, leaving out the violent parts in an effort to cope with her memories.
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“That was a lot easier to live with than the complete confusion and fear that the experience had left me with,” she told the publication.
“And I think lots of people do this. A lot of people kind of mutate trauma into something they can relate, and in then doing so kind of minimize the trauma.”
In her interview with CBC, Polley said that when the initial claims about Ghomeshi surfaced, she had two young children at the time and knew she “couldn’t handle” the high-profile trial.
“Many people who have come forward with stories like this get subjected to a kind of analysis,” Polley said.
“If you don’t remember every detail perfectly, if you can’t create a snapshot that is unassailable, then you are not considered credible,” she said.
In March 2016, Ghomeshi was acquitted of sexually assaulting three women and a fourth charge was later dropped after he apologized to the fourth complainant and signed a peace bond.
At the time of the acquittal, Justice William B. Horkins asserted that there was “outright deception” in the testimony brought forth by three complainants.
“Each complainant was revealed at trial to be lacking in these important attributes. The evidence of each complainant suffered not just from inconsistencies and questionable behaviour, but was tainted by outright deception,” he said at the time.
— With files from Global News
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If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or is involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for help. They are also reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
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