35 Facts About Jian Ghomeshi

Jian Ghomeshi was born on June 9,1967 and is a Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and former CBC personality.

Jian Ghomeshi hosted, among others, the CBC Newsworld program Play, the CBC Radio One program The National Playlist, and the CBC Radio One program Q, which he co-created and hosted from 2007 to 2014.

In late 2015, Jian Ghomeshi pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his trial began in early 2016.

Since 2020, Jian Ghomeshi has been the executive producer and host of Roqe, an English-language podcast aimed at the Iranian diaspora.

Jian Ghomeshi was born in London, England, to Iranian parents Farhang, a civil engineer, and Azar Ghomeshi.

Jian Ghomeshi's family came to Canada in 1974 when Jian was aged seven and his sister, Jila Ghomeshi, was aged ten, first living in Toronto before eventually settling in its suburb of Thornhill, Ontario.

Jian Ghomeshi visited pre-revolutionary Tehran twice as a child, once at age two, the other aged five.

Jian Ghomeshi attended Thornlea Secondary School, where he was student council president.

Jian Ghomeshi has written that, during his teenage years, he ensured that his clothes smelled of cigarette smoke to give him "social credibility" even though he was a non-smoker, dressed "new wave" and listened to music from David Bowie, Talking Heads, and Rush.

Jian Ghomeshi had an interest in music as a student and in Grade 9 started a short-lived band with a few of his school friends called Urban Transit.

In 1985, Jian Ghomeshi was a committed feminist and budding progressive activist when he matriculated at York University in the theatre program.

In 1995, after taking time off to play music, Jian Ghomeshi graduated from York with a BA in political science and a double minor in history and women's studies.

Jian Ghomeshi was credited as "Jean" rather than Jian on the band's first album, but reverted to the original spelling of his name for subsequent albums.

Jian Ghomeshi released his first solo EP, The First 6 Songs, in July 2001.

David Yuhnke, who was present at the recording, suspected that Jian Ghomeshi was joking, recalling that the room's atmosphere was "sarcasm-laded", but added that he found it "hard to gauge entirely if he [Jian Ghomeshi] was being serious or not".

In 1999, Jian Ghomeshi began a correspondence with a 16-year-old girl, Sally Block, who was a fan of Moxy Fruvous.

Jian Ghomeshi was allowed to attend FruCon, and Ghomeshi dropped the issue after her father confronted him for "carrying on this type of relationship with an underage girl".

Jian Ghomeshi managed electropop artist Lights from 2007 until 2014, during which time she won the Juno Award for Best New Artist and was nominated for several more.

In 2002, Jian Ghomeshi became host of CBC Newsworld's Play, a show about the arts in Canada and abroad.

Jian Ghomeshi wrote columns for The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail.

Jian Ghomeshi hosted the radio series 50 Tracks and 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version on CBC Radio One and CBC Radio 2.

From April 16,2007, to October 26,2014, Jian Ghomeshi was the host of Q, a program airing twice daily on CBC Radio One, and on over 170 stations in the US through Public Radio International.

In 2012, Jian Ghomeshi received the Gold Award for best talk show host at the New York Festivals' International Radio Awards.

Jian Ghomeshi was set to host the November 2014 Scotiabank Giller Prize awards gala but was replaced in October by comedian Rick Mercer.

Later in the interview, Thornton said that the reason for his uncooperative answers was that Jian Ghomeshi had been "instructed not to discuss" his film career but had done so.

Jian Ghomeshi compared the international media exposure that followed the interview to being "in the middle of a tsunami".

Jian Ghomeshi denied the accusations again and the Star declined to go forward with the story at that time.

Jian Ghomeshi said he refused an offer by the CBC to "walk away quietly".

Jian Ghomeshi filed a $55 million lawsuit against the CBC, alleging that the corporation misused "personal and confidential information provided to it in confidence".

The terms of settlement stipulated that Jian Ghomeshi pay the CBC $18,000 in legal costs.

Jian Ghomeshi's literary debut, 1982, is a creative non-fiction title, about that year of his youth.

Jian Ghomeshi launched The Ideation Project with a monologue called "Exiles" on the topic of what it means to not have a homeland.

Since 2020, Jian Ghomeshi has been the executive producer and host of Roqe, an English-language podcast aimed at the Iranian diaspora.

Jian Ghomeshi appeared in court on the same day and was released on $100,000 bail on the conditions that he surrender his passport, stay within Ontario and live with his mother.

Jian Ghomeshi's trial began on February 1,2016, and lasted eight days.