{"id":920285,"date":"2026-10-04T12:50:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T12:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/920285\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T12:50:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T12:50:19","slug":"steven-galloway-accuser-apologizes-ahead-of-defamation-trial-regrets-role-in-spreading-unproven-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/920285\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven Galloway accuser apologizes ahead of defamation trial, regrets role in spreading unproven allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Steven Galloway at UBC in April, 2014. The former UBC professor’s defamation trial is expected to begin Monday in B.C. Supreme Court.John Lehmann\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

One of several accusers of former University of British Columbia professor Steven Galloway<\/a> says she now understands her conduct toward him was \u201cserious and harmful\u201d as she apologized just days before a defamation trial in the case is expected to begin. <\/p>\n

Chelsea Rooney\u2019s statement said she communicated serious and unproven allegations against Galloway and that she was involved in collecting complaints in an attempt to build a case against him. <\/p>\n

\u201cI recognize that statements and communications about allegations of this nature can cause profound harm to a person\u2019s reputation, work, personal life, and family, and did in fact do so to Mr. Galloway. I deeply regret my role in contributing to the harm Mr. Galloway has suffered in this regard,\u201d her statement said. <\/p>\n

Much of Rooney\u2019s apology appeared in the National Post newspaper on Saturday and the entire statement is posted on the website gallowayapologies.com, along with eight other apologies from those who say they regret communications or actions that accused Galloway of sexual assault. <\/p>\n

Rooney, who is a defendant in the B.C. Supreme Court case due to start Monday, said she recognizes the communications she circulated about Galloway caused others to believe they were true, and she\u2019s aware he firmly denies that he sexually assaulted a student only know as A.B.<\/p>\n

Opinion: A decade ago, writer Steven Galloway\u2019s cancellation tore CanLit apart. The effects linger to this day<\/a><\/p>\n

The apology is the latest occurrence in what began as an accusation against Galloway in November, 2015. He sued numerous people in 2018, alleging he was defamed with false sexual assault allegations by fellow professors, a former student and others who repeated the statements on social media and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court of Canada in 2024 dismissed an appeal by his accusers<\/a>, clearing the way for the defamation trial. <\/p>\n

Galloway is the author of novels including The Cellist of Sarajevo and The Confabulist and was a tenured professor and the chair of the creative writing program at UBC.<\/p>\n

He was never charged, though he was fired from his job<\/a>. <\/p>\n

A report commission by the University of B.C. by retired B.C. Supreme Court judge Mary Ellen Boyd concluded the claims against Galloway were unsubstantiated. <\/p>\n

Galloway\u2019s lawyer, Dan Burnett, could not be immediately reached for comment on Saturday, although he said in an interview after the High Court\u2019s ruling that his client\u2019s \u201creputation and life were devastated by the criminal allegations.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rooney is among the defendants who fought the defamation case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, claiming the accusations of sexual assault must be protected speech, true or not, and \u201cregardless of the circumstances in which the statement was published.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opinion: Steven Galloway can have his day in court \u2013 but that will have consequences<\/a><\/p>\n

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elaine Adair said in her ruling on the case in 2021 that if the defendants arguments were true, \u201cthere would be no legal consequences of any kind\u201d to publicly calling someone a rapist. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is difficult to see how something so extreme and potentially reckless would be in the public interest,\u201d her decision said. <\/p>\n

Rooney said in her statement that because she didn\u2019t know the allegations were true, she should not have communicated them or posted them publicly on social media. <\/p>\n

She said she has reflected on Galloway\u2019s steadfast efforts over the years and she has come to better understand the basis for his position and his commitment to clearing his name and reputation. <\/p>\n

\u201cI should not have listened only to one side, or allowed that one-sided understanding to shape my communications, my tweets, or my participation in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rooney said Galloway considered her a friend before A.B. made the allegations, and on multiple occasions went out of his way to help her, with nothing asked in return, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn my 2014 book, I thanked him as someone \u2018who encouraged me to commit to writing at a very important time in my life.\u2019 That was a true statement,\u201d her apology said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know that nothing I say now can undo the harm or give back the years affected by these events, but I am genuinely sorry for the part I played in causing that harm.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Steven Galloway at UBC in April, 2014. The former UBC professor’s defamation trial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":920286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-920285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/920286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}