CBC fired Q radio host Jian Ghomeshi after he showed them a video depicting bruising on a woman he had dated, apparently caused by a cracked rib, sources have told the Star.

The video was on Ghomeshi’s phone. The scene was the King Street West offices of Denton LLP, a law firm retained by Ghomeshi, who was facing allegations that his alleged rough treatment of women was about to become front-page news.

Leading up to the weekend of Oct. 25-26, with Ghomeshi’s professional future hanging in the balance, two CBC executives were invited to the Denton offices to hear and see Ghomeshi’s side of the story.

When CBC executives Chris Boyce and Chuck Thompson left Denton on Thursday, Oct. 23, they reported to their bosses that it was “much bigger than we ever thought,” a source told the Star. Ghomeshi was put on leave of absence that day.

According to sources, the CBC executives were shown a variety of information, including a video and text messages, by the Denton lawyers in attendance at the meeting.

Sources say the video is of a woman whom Ghomeshi had dated in the past 10 years. The video shows bruising to the woman’s body (she is partially covered in the video). And information provided to CBC that weekend, including text messages Ghomeshi had on his phone, refer to a “cracked rib.” A large bruise could be seen on the side of her body.

As the Star has reported previously, Ghomeshi showed information that, in his opinion, revealed how a person can be bruised during sex and it could “still be consensual,” said one source with a close connection to Ghomeshi’s strategy that day. Ghomeshi has said he is a practitioner of BDSM — bondage-dominance-sadism-masochism.

Ghomeshi refers to the meetings in his $55 million lawsuit against CBC, filed in court the day after his firing. In the suit, he states that in the days leading up to his firing he showed “sensitive and private exchanges” involving a woman he had a relationship with. Ghomeshi states that after he showed the material CBC was satisfied that he “had not engaged in non consensual sex.”

In the Star’s ongoing investigation into allegations that Ghomeshi has attacked women on dates, women have alleged that they have been struck with open and closed hands on various parts of their bodies, and choked. The Star has heard multiple allegations from women interviewed as part of the paper’s investigation.

The women have told the Star of bruising, including bruising to the face and head, often in areas of the head covered by hair. Women who have made these allegations say they did not consent to these attacks.

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Ghomeshi has not provided detailed responses to questions from the Star, though he has said in a statement posted on Facebook that all of his sexual activities were consensual.

In the Facebook posting he refers to his meeting with CBC in late October.

“On Thursday I voluntarily showed evidence that everything I have done has been consensual. I did this in good faith and because I know, as I have always known, that I have nothing to hide,” Ghomeshi wrote.

“CBC execs confirmed that the information provided showed that there was consent. In fact, they later said to me and my team that there is no question in their minds that there has always been consent. They said they’re not concerned about the legal side. But then they said that this type of sexual behavior was unbecoming of a prominent host on the CBC,” Ghomeshi stated in his posting.

Ghomeshi, writing to his legions of fans two weeks ago, said he understands that his preferred approach to sex may not appeal to everyone.

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He said his practices may be “strange, enticing, weird, normal, or outright offensive to others. We all have our secret life.”

According to sources, CBC did not leave the meeting at Ghomeshi’s law firm with the original video or a copy of the video.

Toronto police are investigating allegations from three women who have come forward.

Kevin Donovan can be reached at (416) 312-3503 or kdonovan@thestar.ca

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