Sex trial: Quebec TV host Julie Snyder testifies against Just for Laughs founder
At first, she testified, she thought she was being attacked by someone who had broken in.
Julie Snyder, a prominent television personality from Quebec, shared in court that she was sexually assaulted by Gilbert Rozon, the founder of Just for Laughs, in Paris over 30 years ago. Snyder gave her testimony as part of a civil trial involving nine women suing Rozon for a combined $14 million, although Snyder herself is not among the plaintiffs.
Snyder recounted the incident, which occurred in 1991 when she was 23 and hosting the TV show Sortir. She had traveled to Paris for work and stayed in a company apartment owned by Just for Laughs. On the third night of her stay, Rozon unexpectedly appeared. After a brief conversation, Snyder retired to her room but later awoke to find Rozon allegedly assaulting her.
“I opened my eyes, and there was a hand on my chest,” Snyder testified, describing the experience as terrifying. Initially believing an intruder had broken in, she turned to see Rozon, who she described as having "a crazy look" and appearing to be "in a trance." Fearing for her safety, she managed to escape by pretending to go to the bathroom and then fleeing the apartment.
Once outside, Snyder said she ran "like I’ve never run before." She explained her initial silence about the incident, stating that she feared the consequences of speaking out against someone as powerful and influential as Rozon. "I didn’t even tell my mother," she said, highlighting her concerns about judgment and the impact on her career.
Snyder eventually confided in a colleague in 1998, the same year Rozon pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman and received an absolute discharge. Later, during a meal in Paris, Snyder told Rozon he was “sick” and needed therapy but did not directly confront him about her own experience.
In 2017, following multiple accusations against Rozon, Snyder filed a complaint with Montreal police. However, her complaint did not lead to criminal charges. Prosecutors pursued only one case among 14 complaints, but Rozon was acquitted in 2020. The judge found the complainant credible but noted inconsistencies that undermined the case.
The current civil trial involves nine women, referred to as “the courageous ones,” who filed individual lawsuits after a class-action suit was rejected. Snyder’s testimony aims to support their claims by presenting Rozon as someone with a history of sexual misconduct.
Rozon has denied all allegations and filed a defamation lawsuit against Snyder and another individual for remarks made about him on television in 2020. His legal team argued that the women involved in the trial had influenced each other’s accounts, calling their claims into question.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Chantal Tremblay is presiding over the ongoing trial.
