Elizabeth Lunbeck. The Americanization of Narcissism

On November 26, 2014, Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi was released on bail following a court appearance in Toronto to face five criminal charges involving sexual assault and choking. The charges came a month after he was fired from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada's public broadcaster. The CBC had dismissed Ghomeshi when, its spokespeople said, they were confronted with “‘graphic evidence’” that Ghomeshi had physically injured a woman (Ian Austen, “Jian Ghomeshi, Canadian Radio Host Facing Sexual Assault Charges, Is Granted Bail,” New York Times, November 26, 2014). In the weeks leading up to his court appearance nine other women came forward with similar allegations, some dating back a decade. Ghomeshi pleaded not guilty to all formal legal charges. He freely admitted that he enjoyed “rough sex,” but insisted it was always consensual (Anne Kingston, “Jian Ghomeshi: How He Got Away with It,” Maclean's, November 6, 2014). Jian Ghomeshi was big news on both sides of the border. Ghomeshi had been the host of the radio program “Q With Jian Ghomeshi” since its inception in 2007. “Q” mainly featured interviews with a wide variety of artists, writers, actors, filmmakers, and musicians and, besides being one of the CBC's most successful programs ever, was the network's flagship show. It was also syndicated on 180 radio stations in the United States through Public Radio International (PRI). “Q” was “one of the faster-growing public radio programs in the U.S.,” a PRI official stated, with 858,800 U.S. listeners and a live taping in Los Angeles on October 16, 2014 (Kingston). The “Q” YouTube channel averaged 1.5 million hits per month. Until women began coming forward with stories of abuse in 2014, Ghomeshi's fame was ascending in Canada and the United States.

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