07 July 2018•Update: 08 July 2018
By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada
A woman who claims that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau groped her at a fundraising event several years ago went public Friday, giving her name and a statement that she wants to be left alone.
For his part, Trudeau said he did not “act inappropriately”. But Rose Knight said on Twitter that the incident did indeed occur at the Creston Music Festival in August 2000.
A reporter with the Creston Valley Advance newspaper at the time, she had been assigned to cover the event. An editorial following the event and headlined ‘Open Eyes’ recounting the alleged groping appeared, but Knight took no action and the incident seemed to disappear.
But after resurfacing a few weeks ago, the accusation resulted in a maelstrom of speculation in Canada since Trudeau is an avowed feminist and has declared zero tolerance for such behavior.
Knight said in the tweet that she was going public due to intense pressure.
“I issue this statement reluctantly, in response to mounting media pressure to confirm that I was the reporter who was the subject of the Open Eyes editorial, published in the Creston Valley Advance in August of 2000,” Knight said in her statement. “The incident referred to in the editorial did occur, as reported.
“Mr. Trudeau did apologize the next day. I did not pursue the incident at the time and will not be pursuing the incident further. I have had no subsequent contact with Mr. Trudeau, before or after he became prime minister.”
Knight, who is no longer a journalist, said on her part, the incident is closed.
Trudeau, who was 28 at the time it is alleged to have happened, has not publicly reacted to Knight’s tweet but Thursday reiterated that he does not recall inappropriate behavior on his part but admitted he did apologize at the time.
“Over the past few weeks, since this news resurfaced, I’ve been reflecting, we’ve all been reflecting, on past behaviors,” he said. “And as I’ve said, I’m confident I didn’t act inappropriately…People in many cases, women, experience interactions in professional contexts and other contexts differently than men.
“I apologized the moment because I had obviously perceived that she had experienced it in a different way than I acted or I experienced it.”
