CBC management announced Monday they are pulling almost all interviews conducted by Jian Ghomeshi offline, sparking outrage from Q listeners on social media.

“We aren’t erasing the archives, we’re just taking them offline for now,” said CBC media relations chief Chuck Thompson told the Star in an email Tuesday.

Thompson said Ghomeshi’s interviews posted on CBC platforms and YouTube will be taken offline “very soon.” He said “the lion’s share” of interviews will be taken off the CBC’s website and YouTube channel but there may be some exceptions.

“There is no obvious right or wrong approach here,” Thompson said. “We’ve been giving this a lot of careful consideration over the last few weeks and want to give the program every opportunity to be as unencumbered as possible while some very creative people reimagine Q’s future.”

Q listeners first learned of the news Monday during a Q segment on the ethics of consuming art of tarnished artists, including Bill Cosby.

“Q has decided not to rebroadcast any of (Ghomeshi’s) past interviews,” said Q guest host Wab Kinew, adding that CBC management is taking episodes off the archive on the website.

Following the announcement, listeners took to Q’s Facebook page to voice their outrage.

“Jian did many wonderful interviews. It is part of CBC’s history. You must not erase it!” wrote one commenter. “Editing the past would be very disingenuous,” wrote another.

Nearly all of the 100 Facebook comments posted as of Tuesday evening indicated listeners do not support CBC’s decision.

Thompson would not comment on negative feedback from listeners but said, “We’re going to use judgment and do what we’re able to do to reduce the association with our former host.”

During his time at Q, Ghomeshi won praised for his interviews, and has landed high-profile chats with everyone from Adele and Barbara Walters.

But it was an awkward 2009 interview with musician and actor Billy Bob Thornton — in which Thornton blew up after taking offence to Ghomeshi’s mention of his acting career — that earned Ghomeshi international exposure.

Thompson said music performances will remain online but the “tops and tails” — where Ghomeshi is heard — will be edited. He did not rule out the possibility of one day bringing interviews back online.

“There are so many great interviews there that need to be available and we may look to bring the archival material back online at some point or we’ll reversion it in some way,” said Thompson.

CBC automatically pulls audio and video archival material offline after two years anyhow to make room for newer fare, said Thompson.

In a statement posted on Q’s blog, Cindy Witten, senior director of CBC Radio Talk, said CBC is “focusing on the future” and looking for a new Q host.

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After a series of articles in the Star, 15 women have come forward with allegations Ghomeshi abused them. He faces four charges of sexual assault and one of choking and has been released on $100,000 bail.

CBC fired the former Q host in late October.

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