Tim Westwood is stepping down from the radio show following allegations of sexual misconduct
Tim Westwood has withdrawn his show on Capital Xtra until further notice following allegations of sexual misconduct, radio station Global’s parent company said.
he veteran hip-hop DJ and radio host regularly hosts a Saturday night show on the station where he’s dubbed “The Big Dawg.”
A Global spokesman said: “Following the allegations that have recently come to light, Tim Westwood has stepped down from his show until further notice.”
Westwood, who left BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra in 2013 after almost 20 years, has been accused of sexual misconduct and predatory behavior by several women.
A representative said he “strongly denies all allegations of wrongdoing.”
Tim Westwood denies any wrongdoing (Image: Lia Toby/PA)
In allegations made to the BBC and the Guardian, Westwood, 64, allegedly abused his position in the music industry to take advantage of seven women who were in their late teens or early 20s at the time.
Three women have accused the DJ of opportunistic and predatory sexual behavior, while four others say he groped them at events, according to the Guardian.
A statement by Westwood’s representative to the PA news agency on Tuesday said: “Tim Westwood strongly denies any allegations of improper conduct.
“In his 40-year career there have never been any official or unofficial complaints against him.
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“Tim Westwood firmly denies all allegations of misconduct.”
Westwood was scheduled to perform at a number of events over the next month, but the entries have disappeared from his website.
A performance at the Empire in Bedford that was due to take place on Friday was canceled and a statement shared by his management on Instagram said: “In light of the allegations, this event has been cancelled.
“Tim Westwood denies all allegations of wrongdoing.
“Sorry for the inconvenience this may cause on your bank holiday weekend.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie said the allegations against the DJ were “shocking” and the claims made by the women were “powerful and appalling” but he had seen “no evidence of complaints” from the DJ’s time with the company.
Tim Davie described the allegations against Westwood as “shocking” (Andrew Milligan/PA)
The allegations were detailed in a BBC Three documentary, Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power, which aired Tuesday night.
Asked at the Voice Of The Listener & Viewer spring conference about the possibility that complaints to the BBC about Westwood’s lack of diversity have been ignored, Davie said of the documentary: “It’s shocking and the testimony from the women is powerful and appalling .
“By the way, I have to thank the BBC and Guardian teams for following up the story. I think that’s absolutely what we should be doing.
“I have seen no evidence of complaints. I asked and we looked through our records and we didn’t see any evidence.”
He added: “I think now we’re in a position where we’re very clear about the culture, meaning any complaint has to be taken seriously. If something like this has been raised or anything comes up, we investigate it fully. And I would hope that we did during this time.
“I would just say if people have evidence that things have not been followed up or if they have any concerns in this area, bring them to us. We want to investigate that.”
He continued, “The only thing I know is that you have to look at yourself and say, ‘Did I know something?’ and in this case I haven’t seen any evidence of that, but we’re going to investigate and we’re going to dig and dig and dig.
“It is shocking to see these testimonies. But more generally, when people have evidence of wrongdoing, it is imperative that we present it.
“A truly inclusive workforce means people feel safe to speak up, to talk, to bring things up, there’s no fear around. I think all companies have to work really hard to create that environment.”
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/tim-westwood-steps-down-from-radio-show-following-sexual-misconduct-claims-41593618.html Tim Westwood is stepping down from the radio show following allegations of sexual misconduct