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Rolf Klausener, the creative director of Arboretum Festival, has apologized for “emotional hurt” to women and is resigning, a week after anonymous posters labelling him a “bad date” appeared around downtown Ottawa.

In a post on his Facebook page Friday morning, Klausener addressed the accusations directly, acknowledging that he’s been “the worst version of myself for a long time.”

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“To the women I have affected, I am sorry for the emotional hurt I’ve caused you. I am sorry for making you feel less than. … Many have known this and felt angry, frustrated, misled, unsafe, sad, confused, but also shamed, and silenced,” he wrote.

“I have never been physically or verbally violent or engaged in non-consensual sex. However, I¹m ashamed of the emotional harm I’ve caused.”

He announced his resignation from Arboretum in a separate posting.

“This has been a tremendously difficult decision, but the right one,” Klausener wrote.