Defendant Apologizes to B.C. Author Steven Galloway Days Before Defamation Trial

Emma MacLeod

10/6/20263 min read

One of the defendants in a long-running defamation case involving former University of British Columbia professor and author Steven Galloway has issued a public apology just days before the trial is expected to begin.

Writer Chelsea Rooney said she now recognizes that her actions toward Galloway were “serious and harmful” and acknowledged that she communicated allegations against him that had not been proven.

Rooney is among several people Galloway sued for defamation after allegations of sexual assault circulated publicly beginning in 2015.

The B.C. Supreme Court trial is scheduled to begin Monday.

Rooney Says She Helped Gather Complaints

In her statement, Rooney said she was involved in collecting complaints in an effort to build a case against Galloway and communicated serious allegations about him to others.

“I recognize that statements and communications about allegations of this nature can cause profound harm to a person’s reputation, work, personal life, and family, and did in fact do so to Mr. Galloway,” Rooney wrote.

“I deeply regret my role in contributing to the harm Mr. Galloway has suffered in this regard.”

Much of Rooney’s apology was published Saturday by the National Post. Her complete statement has also been posted online alongside eight other apologies from people who say they regret communications or actions accusing Galloway of sexual assault.

Rooney said she understands that circulating the allegations caused others to believe they were true.

She also acknowledged that Galloway has consistently denied sexually assaulting a former student identified in the court proceedings only as A.B.

Case Dates Back to 2015 Allegations

The dispute began in November 2015 when allegations were made against Galloway, then a tenured UBC professor and chair of the university’s creative writing program.

Galloway, whose novels include The Cellist of Sarajevo and The Confabulist, was never criminally charged.

UBC later dismissed him from his position.

A university-commissioned investigation conducted by retired B.C. Supreme Court judge Mary Ellen Boyd concluded that the allegations against Galloway were unsubstantiated.

In 2018, Galloway filed lawsuits against a number of people, including fellow academics, a former student and others who he alleged had defamed him by repeating false sexual assault allegations publicly, including on social media.

Supreme Court Cleared Way for Trial

The legal fight over whether parts of Galloway’s lawsuit could proceed eventually reached the Supreme Court of Canada.

In 2024, the country’s highest court dismissed an appeal brought by some of the defendants, clearing the way for the defamation case to continue toward trial.

During earlier proceedings, defendants had argued that statements concerning sexual assault allegations should receive strong legal protection because of their public-interest context.

In a 2021 ruling, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elaine Adair rejected the broader implications of that position.

She wrote that accepting the argument in its widest form could mean there would be “no legal consequences of any kind” for publicly accusing someone of rape.

“It is difficult to see how something so extreme and potentially reckless would be in the public interest,” Adair wrote.

‘I Should Not Have Listened Only to One Side’

Rooney said she has since reflected on Galloway’s efforts to restore his reputation and concluded that she should not have publicly communicated allegations she did not know to be true.

“I 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,” she wrote.

Rooney also said Galloway had considered her a friend before the allegations surfaced and had previously supported her writing career.

She recalled thanking him in her 2014 book as someone “who encouraged me to commit to writing at a very important time in my life.”

“That was a true statement,” she wrote.

Rooney concluded by acknowledging that an apology cannot reverse the consequences of what happened.

“I 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.”

Galloway’s lawyer, Dan Burnett, was not immediately available for comment.

The defamation trial is expected to begin in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday.

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