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Author and former University of British Columbia professor Steven Galloway leaves B.C. Supreme Court during a lunch break at his defamation lawsuit, Vancouver, Oct. 6.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Both Steven Galloway and the former University of British Columbia student who accused the bestselling author of sexual assault and harassment worked behind-the-scenes to curry sympathy amid a national firestorm over the allegations, B.C. Supreme Court heard Wednesday.
Mr. Galloway, who is suing the woman known as A.B. due to a publication ban and three others for defamation, testified that after he was fired as chair of the university’s creative writing program in June, 2016, he was asked by fellow CanLit star and UBC alumna Madeleine Thien to read a draft of her letter to their alma mater excoriating it for the university’s treatment of Mr. Galloway.
He testified Tuesday that he had also seen a copy of the controversial ‘UBC Accountable letter’ calling for the university to open an independent investigation into his firing before it was published. The letter was signed by dozens of prominent writers, including Margaret Atwood.
During cross-examination Wednesday, Aria Laskin, counsel for defendant Mandi Gray, presented Mr. Galloway with a private e-mail involving her client from the days following Mr. Galloway’s suspension.
Steven Galloway accuses UBC of making up excuses to fire him to protect its reputation
In that e-mail, court heard, Ms. Gray, an author based in Toronto, discussed the idea of launching a boycott against Mr. Galloway’s book publisher Penguin Random House.
In the e-mail, Ms. Gray notes A.B. agreed with the idea.
“She seems to support it as long as it’s not tied to her in any way,” Ms. Laskin read from the e-mail while questioning Mr. Galloway. The court did not hear who Ms. Gray was corresponding with.
Wednesday’s revelations showed how Mr. Galloway and A.B., who had an extramarital affair from 2011 to 2013, were privy to some of the efforts from allies to sway public perception after the allegations surfaced in late 2015 to torpedo Mr. Galloway’s career.
Mr. Galloway testified Wednesday that Ms. Thien only asked him to look at her letter beforehand to verify its accuracy and he ended up sending along a few minor suggestions.
“Madeleine Thien does not need me editing her work,” he said.
He agreed with Ms. Laskin that Ms. Thien’s letter, the UBC Accountable letter, his own interview with The Globe and Mail in 2018 and his other efforts to publicly defend himself against the original sexual assault allegations didn’t help his public image.
UBC’s announcement of a formal investigation of “serious allegations” involving Mr. Galloway in 2015 led to an online firestorm over Mr. Galloway’s right to due process versus the rights of his alleged victim.
A retired judge hired by UBC to investigate A.B.’s claims found he had sexually harassed her and found other instances of misconduct leading to his firing, but did not find that he sexually assaulted the woman.
Steven Galloway accuser threatened to sue UBC for up to $3-million, defamation trial hears
The school fired Mr. Galloway in 2016 without severance, but two years later, an arbitrator awarded him more than $220,000 in two separate awards for violating his privacy during the process of suspending and dismissing him.
He was never charged with a crime and in 2018 he launched his defamation suit, arguing the defendants repeated claims online that he had sexually assaulted a student.
A.B. is not testifying and, at the start of the trial, her lawyer Arden Beddoes told the court that she was withdrawing her defences of truth and fair comment – but not admitting that she spread lies about her former romantic partner. Mr. Beddoes said she had tried to kill herself twice in recent months because of the stress of the ordeal.
Defendant Glynnis Kirchmeier, a former UBC student who is now studying law and representing herself in the trial, spent the end of Wednesday cross-examining Mr. Galloway.
Justice Neena Sharma began Wednesday’s hearing by denying a request from the defendants the day before to gain access to an unredacted version of Mr. Galloway’s dismissal letter. On Tuesday, Mr. Galloway testified that university’s administration provided him with a “laundry list” of reasons for his dismissal in 2016, but apart from the extramarital affair with the student in his creative-writing program, those reasons remain secret.
The trial, which has gone on for seven days and was initially scheduled to last a further 13, continues Monday with other witnesses.