Article content

These are early days yet at the sex assault trial of the fallen CBC star Jian Ghomeshi, but thus far the most disturbing element isn’t the allegations against him, but rather the bizarre evidence of the first complainant to testify against him.

The 48-year-old former host of Q on CBC Radio and before that of the CBC TV show Play is pleading not guilty to four counts of sexual assault and one of choking, the charges involving three women.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Christie Blatchford: As Ghomeshi trial starts, most disturbing evidence is the inconsistencies Back to video

Two of those sex assault charges, the first of which allegedly occurred in December of 2002 and the second in January of 2003, relate to the first complainant.

She spent much of Monday in the witness stand.

There, the compelling narrative she spun in examination-in-chief — while parked in his car, she said, Ghomeshi without warning yanked her hard by the hair while they were kissing — was shredded by significant inconsistencies revealed in cross-examination by Ghomeshi’s lead lawyer, Marie Henein.