CORNWALL Ontario – Adam Brazeau is a young man that is a journalist for TC Media owned Seaway News in Cornwall Ontario. He’s covers ground that editor Todd Lihou doesn’t as opposed to won’t.
Last night, before he appeared at the SASS Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event today he initiated a conversation with a former student he attended Journalism school with and pulled a mini Jian Ghomeshi online.
We decided not to run the unedited screen cap of their chat as we do have some young people who read CFN…well lots of young people and I’m sure they know the words we blanked out, but I digress.
We have the unedited originals of the entire conversation.
The issue of course is that the young woman felt doubly victimized seeing Mr. Brazeau in his red pumps and felt he was an utter hypocrite.
So we tussled about her coming forward. I felt that people like Jian Ghomeshi and Bill Cosby would not have so many alleged victims of women like her stepped forward and told their story and the compromise was that I interviewed her and agreed to leave her name out although Mr. Brazeau clearly would know who she is.
We have sent him a message giving him a chance to tell his side of the story.
Edited to add this nugget from the same conversation where Mr. Brazeau admits he wants to father a daughter and has issues with Cornwall women.
Kaboom!
What is swag? It is like the HPV?
Seems like a non event to me. He starts taking dirty, and she doesn’t want any of it. Then he stops. What am i missing here? Women are growing the movement of MGTOW(men going their own way) because of this type of thing. Always the victim, so helpless but has the power to ruin a mans name for merely getting hit on.
Exactly what I was thinking Jerry. Is this any different than a guy in a bar hitting on a woman with suggestive language and when she says ‘no’ he stops and moves on? The guy was crass but was it sexual harassment?
Jamie. If you are so moved by women’s rights… why is the Paleo princess bent over the counter to show her cleavage? Also, why is the caption for May 25 “had a craving and this recipe hit more than just her spot”. Why not ‘hit the spot’ as the saying goes?
Nicole please respect our comment policy. As for the talented Paleo Princess her photo is supplied by her and is the photo from her blog. My suggestion is that you ask her that question. I can’t speak for her, but I would imagine some people are proud of how they look and don’t mind sharing it. I don’t think there’s anything overt or offensive in Kristin’s photo.
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It is sexual harassment if she didn’t say “hey talk dirty to me.” Victim blaming, victim shaming and deflecting from the real issue are the top reasons why both women and men don’t report sexual harassment and/or sexual violence. It’s disappointing to see if happen here in these comments. If anything comes from this, people should at the very least take the opportunity to educate themselves about the issue through SASS. They are a great agency that does amazing work and people should support this very evident prevalent issue in this community!
Im not one of these politically correct people, but in my day you never went to a bar and told a girl you would chew on her genitalia cause she was attractive. This pervert should be fired forthwith.
Jennifer Jay, you are correct in saying there is so, so much sexual harassment and sexual abuse. However, when allegations and accusations like this story are put out there as “harassment”, It makes it look like women cry foul over every single little thing that they find offensive. Are we supposed to give national attention every time some slob of a man says “nice ass”? He clearly was not pressuring her. And i’m sure she is loving being referred to as “victim” in this story. Look up MGTOW, and see why more men aren’t holding doors open for women.
Jerry I hold doors open for women still, sometimes even for men. I was taught by my parents and grand parents well when it comes to manners and courtesy.
Honestly do you really think there’s any defense for blind siding anyone like this? And if you read the article, the reason this was published was the hypocrisy to flopping around in Red Heels after uttering what was said. It also is a sign that certain groups care more about politics than asking those who really have supported the cause in this community.
Mr. Brazeau’s words are not acceptable at any level. I hope that he apologizes to his victim and I hope he gets a firm talking to by the women in his family as I’m sure they wouldn’t be impressed with his performance.
I’ve known Adam for over 10 years. He has never been anything but kind and respectful. The only thing I find distasteful about this article Jamie, is that you pick and chose tiny portions of a one hour conversation to slander Adam. A fellow journalist (OH WAIT! Only one of you is a real journalist!) You failed to post the entire convo – just the part where Adam said what he said. It seems like a pretty random comment to make if the ‘victim’ wasn’t going in that direction (flirting) to begin with. It seems completely out of context. And, if she was so offended, why was she still talking to him almost an hour later about his future? And FYI , talking dirty is not sexual assault or harassment – telling someone what you would like to do to them sexually are just words and the ‘victim’ told Adam right there and then that she didn’t appreciate it and he stopped (we assume as only a portion of the convo is there). She was so upset as she talked to him for almost another hour!!! Couldn’t have been THAT traumatic for her. WOW – just WOW !!!! I have not lost one iota of respect for Adam – he’s a great guy and I will continue to support his work and all the POSITIVE things he does for our community.
Josee you are entitled to your opinion but personally I’d be embarrassed to have written what you just did and actually have a vagina. Also, for you to state certain facets as facts means you could only have had them from one source. Again, the great thing about comments is that they are reflections and in this case your clique love is showing. Thanks for sharing though.
That is where you are wrong again Jamie – haven’t spoken to Adam at all and did not get any other info other than your posted article. The only FACTS I have are the ones posted here which are not ‘facts’ – but snipets of a private conversation. It’s a 100% fact that we are not seeing the entire convo – THAT you cannot argue with. It’s a 100% fact that the ‘victim’ was so traumatized and upset and she continued to chat with him for almost an hour – that also you cannot argue with or dispute. And thanks for bringing up my Vagina – very classy…
Josee and Josee’s vagina. Can either of you please explain how you come to the point of stating that the conversation continued for an hour? That was not stated anywhere in the story, nor was it expressed by the victim who clearly did state that their conversation ended after the incident. Mr. Brazeau was contacted via email and facebook giving him an opportunity to respond. He has not.
Even if they chatted for an hour, the context of Mr. Brazeau’s statement in relation to the Red Shoe event is very….disturbing.
Maybe you should give your good buddy a ring and check the story out with him rather than behaving and writing words that were the exact reason why the victim decided to remain anonymous.
It’s one thing for some guys in wife beater shirts to write like this, but from a woman, it’s very very disturbing.
Josee this was your good friend’s comment on facebook. This is scary and what’s scarier are those that liked it showing support. This is exactly why the Red Shoe event was held. The person that assaulted the victim bleats that they are the victim and because they may have some popularity get support. Holy Project freaking Truth!
Jamie, you seem to be a white knight. Coming to the defense of any woman just for the fact that she has a vag. Tell me this. Why did she come to YOU with this? Also, what is in the convo that is worse than what you showed, that young ones can’t see? Remember when Frost said you had advances on him? Didn’t it feel terrible that every one thought something of you when there was actually nothing there. And by nothing, i mean nothing worth taking legal or even civil action. Do you thing frost is so weak that the non existing advances you made on him, actually disturbed him? Or was it to defame and embarrass you?
Jerry let’s break this down.
I and CFN get multiple requests daily for assistance. Most you never will read about in the paper. You’d be surprised how many legitimate issues in the area get fixed by a threat to come to CFN for assistance.
The victim in this case brought her issue to me. Gave me proof, and was interviewed. This was not he said, she said. Mr. Brazeau was also given two opportunities to share his side of the story or deny the event which he chose not to do.
Mr. Frost pulled a porkie from his posterior and sent a freaking press release out to the media regarding his very false allegations of me making sexual advances on him. There is no comparison. None. He also when making his allegations failed to mention that at that very meeting he did in fact purchase an ad package. In other words he told half of a story and added a huge whopper of a lie to it.
He also issued that release after his first release where he said he’d bankrupt me and destroy CFN which would explain his motivation for such an odd attack.
Comparing the victim of this story who had something allegedly initiated against her and what Mr. Frost did is not logical or make any sense. Honestly.
And I’m not sure this story would have run if Adam had not done it just hours prior to participating in an event to support Sexual Harassment and Assault awareness; or if he’d actually apologized to the victim instead of typing. “LOL”.
Hope that clears it up for you.
My comment is in regards to the length of the conversation. The 2 screen shots you posted show clearly that the conversation in question started at 315 (AM??) and the second screen shot shows it continuing at 4:05 (PM??) that’s a LONG conversation if I can tell time correctly
what an unusual name Ms Sandrock….
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I understand what you are saying Jamie. Please, I encourage you to post the whole conversation so that we can have the entire picture. All he said at the end was that “Cornwall women want swag”. Hardly an attack on anyone. Then it appears that she was saying something about men in Cornwall. Please, edit the nasty stuff like you already did to some of of it and post the entire thing. She wants the story out, you have the evidence and us readers want to have all of the information. I’m a long time reader and supporter of yours. I believe in alternative media. Please don’t lose credibility over this.
Jerry please. I’m quite comfortable with our credibility. We have posted all we will at this time as we have agreed to protect the victim. We posted the relevant section and we posted an interview. If that’s not enough for you that’s your choice. I think after nearly 10,000 stories we don’t have to jump through hoops for our regular viewers at this point.
Regardless of what I say, there isn’t going to be a grand moment where people against this story, and the facts presented in it, are going to stop and say “this is wrong”. I shouldn’t have to defend myself for the actions of someone else. Which is unfortunately a sad truth that lots of men and women have to face when choosing to take a stand, or just stay silent.
I find some of the comments beyond ridiculous, and it makes me wonder how far someone has to cross a line before it is considered an issue for them, and if those commenters would feel the same if women in their lives were spoken to in such a manner.
It’s pathetic to see people implying that victims enjoy being victims, and that what was said is just words. It’s also completely baffling for the time on the phone to be in question. Why does it make a difference when the screen shots were taken?
There is no implication that Mr. Brazeau is a bad person, and I do think that his taking the time to support SASS is a wonderful thing. However, the words he used are inappropriate, and for argument’s sake, are teetering on the line of sexual assault. Just for argument’s sake. But does that make it right and acceptable just because he is well liked?
I would have understood completely if he had apologized rather than leaving it at “lol”. It’s also very understandable for him to feel violated, and I am honestly happy that he isn’t going to let one mistake break him. It really shouldn’t. It was a mistake, and the proper thing to do would be to apologize, learn from this, and be a better person because of it.
To put why this is wrong very simply, is that if someone walks into a grocery store, and they see an item that they just have to eat. Be it the packaging, the way it’s presented on the shelf, prior knowledge of how good it tastes.. if that person didn’t bother to pay for the item and just ate it, we would all agree that it is theft. Something we have all been taught not to do.
There’s nothing wrong with the words he choose.. when there is consent. Just like there is nothing wrong with eating foods from a grocery store, when you pay for them.
There are very real happenings in the world that teach girls that it is their responsibility to not provoke. Little girls sent home because their outfits are distracting to the little boys and their learning. Pool parties making it a requirement that the girls cover up their bodies. That’s teaching young people at a very early age that it is the victims fault if anything were to happen.
It’s unfortunate that this did happen, but what is more unfortunate is that there will always be people who would rather take a stand excusing something as such, rather than wondering where better could be done.
thank you, I’m glad you like it. I was named after both my grandmothers. And its Mrs. 🙂
Don’t feel bad Joellen. I was named after my great great great uncle, Furtz A Bootbomb, who used to clean the public toilets at the Eiffel Tower in Paris from 1893 until 1903.
This is going to be an unpopular opinion but here it goes anyways – I’m a woman, I consider myself a feminist and although I don’t proclaim this to anyone I am a rape survivor. I’m one of many… This article is drop of water that has made the glass overflow for me. I think there comes a point where we have to call on common sense to prevail.
A whole article plumbing the depths of a woman’s victimhood because a guy said something kind of gross and inappropriate to her over text? Are you kidding me? Look – was Adam’s comment inappropriate and kind of gross? Yes. Is it indicative of the sort of sexual entitlement that is prevalent and problematic in our culture and that flows from a form of Misogyny that is woven into the very fabric of our society? Absolutely! Do we need to come together and have a dialogue about consent and what it means? Yes, we desperately do need to that. So yes – I understand and agree with the notion that nothing short of an invitation should constitute an invitation… I get it – I don’t have to be sold on that notion. But we are not talking about this so-called “victim” being touched against her consent, we are not talking about her receiving threatening and consistent, repetitive sexual comments after she indicated her disgust and unwillingness to be spoken to that way. We are talking about a guy who said a disgusting and inappropriate thing then shut up when he realized it was not received as he thought it would be.
He made a massive error in judgement. He’s the only one here ever to have misread the signs and acted like an idiot then? I think we need to take a step back and realize that a lot of the symbols of masculinity and that our societal gender norms encourage men to be sexually assertive and sometimes even aggressive. I even know a lot of women who love and respond to this kind of behaviour – I also know women who, like myself, hate it and feel upset when it happens. It really depends and a lot of men figure it’s worth a try. Here is the problem though: when something like this happens we point to the fact that nothing short of invitation constitutes consent – I think if everyone here is honest they will admit that they have never had a courtship that went like this:
*Woman: “I feel that we have spoken, generally speaking, about our hobbies and interests to an acceptable extent and that we can now proceed to speaking in a way that is sexually suggestive and so if you would like to speak to me in a salty way that may or may not reference my genetalia I am hereby formally granting you consent to do so.”
* Man: “I would like to stroke your hair and hold your hand now but I must first see if you consent. Please sign here.”
Come on guys – in the most favourable interpretation of this exchange the guy may have mis-read the signs – or – the more likely explanation – he is kind of disrespectful to women and figures he’ll try it on just to see if it works because it is likely that is sometimes does.
This is unpleasant. IT IS NOT SEXUAL VIOLENCE, IT IS NOT NEWS AND IT IS NOT A REASON TO RUIN SOMEONE”S LIFE AND CAREER.
I was violently raped by two men in a bathroom. They smashed my face onto the toilet seat and made me lick it. They took turns. They laughed. When I hear someone talking about one single text comment as though it were the same damn thing I makes me angry. I know that we are not supposed to say this but I just think it is disrespectful to women who went through actual rape and abuse. I’m not saying that the barometer has to be gang-rape but if you make the bar so low that any time a man makes a comment of a sexual nature to a woman he is danger of reading his name in the newspaper with strong inferences linking him to rape, sadism and sexual violence, you have made a mockery of a very serious issue.
My two cents. Stop calling yourself a “victim”, “Adam’s victim”, you received an unwanted advance and when you told the guy it was unwelcome he stopped. That doesn’t make you a victim that makes you a human. This has literally happened several times to every single person I know – men, woman and transgendered persons all.
Shame on this publication for publishing this and ruining someone’s life and perhaps their career because it was a slow news day. Shame.
Just to clarify – publish the fact that the guy acted like a douche if you MUST – although I find this sort of public shaming very distasteful and medieval only MAYBE justifiable if the person being shamed has so much influence and power that the media shaming is the only way to get through to them (the media shaming is David’s proverbial slingshot and the person is a “Goliath” of sorts)… Just please don’t go around calling the recipient of ONE gross comment a “victim” asking her twenty million questions about how it made her feel. For one thing I, as a woman, feel infantilized when I read this (this is my reaction as a woman, I don’t really think of myself as “survivor/victim” though I believe I did use the language in my above comment it was really more so that I could make myself understood but I suppose it’s fair to say that as someone has experienced rape and sexual violence, yes, I feel it trivializes what I experienced.
I apologize, I have just read the comment left by the commenter Adam’s Victim who I believe is the person in the story and she does actually have a point – something she said has changed my mind and made me think my comment might have been hasty and intolerant to her point of view and I apologize – it was this:
“I would have understood completely if he had apologized rather than leaving it at “lol”. It’s also very understandable for him to feel violated, and I am honestly happy that he isn’t going to let one mistake break him. It really shouldn’t. It was a mistake, and the proper thing to do would be to apologize, learn from this, and be a better person because of it.”
She does make an excellent point. He should have apologized after he was told, in no uncertain terms, that he his crude words had been very unwelcome. The fact that he laughed and then blocked her without apologizing does constitute a disregard for her boundaries and lack of consent. I would indicate that he did not care that he had said these things without her consent.
I am still not sure if I believe that going to this extent – public naming and shaming – was justified in this case but in any event i would like to apologize for my comments which were made when I was in an emotive state and do not represent what I truly believe when I have calmed down.
I would be grateful to the moderator if he or she did NOT publish my comments. Please, thank you and apologies.
Hey Samantha, welcome to CFN and from that special spot of light in my heart thank you for actually writing a thoughtful comment, directly related to the subject, that puts some meat on the table for those on all sides to think about.
j
I find it sad that MEN still don’t seem to “get it”
You have the Canadian Army trying to silence a report on sexual harassment
A lady giving a lecture to our future leaders at Kingston Military College came away feeling Violated.
Four Hundred RCMP Female officers so upset they are launching a class action
Ghomeshi got away with going after Female Journalism students for years “because he had rating’s
Instead of playing the victim Mr Brazeau should send this woman an apology and be SMART enough NOT to have explicit chats on an open forum
Hello Jamie,
: ) Thanks for not making me feel worse. I feel a bit embarrassed about my initial reaction – I called for common sense and reason and yet I wrote my comment without thinking it through properly and under the influence of strong emotion. I shouldn’t be throwing my story around to try and say that I have some kind of claim on what constitutes victimhood and what doesn’t… Having reflected on the issue I can obviously see that there is a slippery slope involved when we start making decisions about what is and isn’t traumatic enough to constitute an assault of sorts…
I would like to try and explain – not justify – but perhaps shed some light on the reason I had an initial knee-jerk reaction. It’s not just my personal history with this issue but I guess it would be fair to say that I have a certain level of discomfort with public humiliation as punishment. I think that journalists have the very important societal function of speaking truth to power and that you provide a desperately needed check in the system but you also wield a lot of power with that pen… I’m sorry if this appears off topic but I will come to point… It occurs to me that with the prevalence of social media the opportunities to blunder (just look at my initial comment – it’s so easy to write something that we can come to regret 5 minutes later) and there are so many public forums where we can make instant pronouncements and I worry that sometimes good people might make errors in judgement that could hurt them for the rest of their lives. I know that in centuries past an important component of public corporeal punishment was that it was mostly carried out in front of the community of the village or enclave where people lived and the humiliation involved constituted a heavy part of the punishment. Instinctively I guess that part of me is weary of anything that is public and can irrevocably damage someone’s reputation and career.
On the other hand it is true that men have felt they could behave this way for so long precisely because they could. The fact that their actions could be seen and judged by others could have a positive effect on their behaviour… I wish they would treat women with respect because they actually respected them but if that’s not possible perhaps this is the best remedy we have at our disposal? I just don’t know…
Maybe we need to break a few eggs to make an omelet. I can certainly appreciate your point when you say that one of the reasons you chose to write the story is that Adam made these comments (right before? or after?) participating in a march protesting violence/sexual violence against women… There is something deeply disconcerting about making a public show of supporting women’s rights then using the event to re-connect with a lady only so that you treat her like she is a piece of meat. It speaks of cold calculation, as does his failure to apologize and instant blocking on facebook. I can’t imagine being in this situation but if I somehow ended up making overtly sexual propositions to someone who was unwilling to receive them I would profusely apologize right away…
Sam this really comes down to not so much what Adam did,but how he handled it. He messed up. Maybe it was late and he’d had one too many beverages? He refused to own it and he refused to do the right thing and apologize. He was basically a weenie dick. The legal letter compounded that. I’m sure years from now he’ll look back and ask himself what the heck was he thinking?
What also really bothers me is the SASS group hiding from this. At the very least it was a huge opportunity for educational purposes and instead they are hiding.
Frankly they don’t deserve a dime of funding and Ms Vinet should be removed or resigned from copping out when she had a clear path to take on this one as there would have been no story had it not been for her group’s event.
THE GUY WHO SAID THAT TO HER IS A CREEP,
AND I WEAR THE CUT OFF SHIRTS.