GP Images/Getty Images Just For Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon attends the comedy festival on July 28, 2017 in Montreal.

The founder of Just For Laughs announced that he was stepping down from that post as well as several others — shortly before a story featuring allegations of sexual assault and harassment from nine women was published. Gilbert Rozon, 62, resigned from the comedy festival, as well as from positions as c ommissioner for the 375th Montreal anniversary celebrations and vice-president of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. "I withdraw out of respect for employees and families who work for these organizations and all our partners," Rozon said in a Facebook post in French on Wednesday. "I do not want to overshadow them." He added: "To all those I have offended in my life, I am sincerely sorry."

Trigger warning: graphic details A few hours later, Le Devoir published claims of sexual misconduct from several women, including some well-known entertainment personalities. Actress Salome Corbo alleged that Rozon assaulted her in 1990 when she was 14 years old. In the Le Devoir story, she said that Rozon grabbed her at a festival party and put a finger in her vagina. "I'm 14, I'm 14, I'm a girl," she recalled trying to say loudly in the hopes that people would hear her and react. But no one did, she said.