Just for Laughs Founder Pays $930K After Assault Ruling

Gilbert Rozon, founder of the Just for Laughs comedy empire, has agreed to pay $930,000 to nine women who accused him of sexual misconduct and has waived his right to appeal a Quebec court ruling that found him liable for sexually assaulting eight of them.

The settlement, announced Wednesday, closes what became one of Canada's highest-profile civil sexual assault cases. Quebec Superior Court Justice Chantal Tremblay's March 31 judgment had ordered $880,000 in damages; the new agreement adds another $50,000. The women had originally sought just under $14 million in damages.

All nine women testified during the December 2024 trial, describing allegations spanning from 1980 to 1994. Tremblay's nearly 600-page decision found that all but one plaintiff had met the burden of proof; a second woman's case was partially accepted. "With one exception, each of them has demonstrated overwhelmingly that she suffered one or more sexual assaults at the hands of Mr. Rozon," Tremblay wrote.

Rozon has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, though he previously pleaded guilty in 1998 to sexually assaulting a 19-year-old at a party east of Montreal—a plea he now says he regrets. That case resulted in an unconditional discharge, a decision the judge partly justified by Rozon's success building Just for Laughs into a comedy institution.

For Canadian comedy culture and the broader reckoning with workplace power imbalances in entertainment, the settlement marks significant accountability. The case began as a class action but was converted to individual suits after a 2020 court ruling, a process that extended the legal battle for years. That Rozon has now waived his appeal rights suggests finality—the door on this chapter closes.