Trailer Park Boys actor Lucy DeCoutere alleges assault by Jian Ghomeshi

Dumped CBC host Jian Ghomeshi has issued his second Facebook statement in response to the growing number of allegations that he has abused women.

This morning (October 30), the former host of Q—who reportedly enlisted the crisis management services of the PR firm Navigator—posted on his Facebook page:

I want to thank you for your support and assure you that I intend to meet these allegations directly.

I don’t intend to discuss this matter any further with the media.

Meanwhile, the number of women accusing Ghomeshi of "abusive behaviour ranging from allegations of beating and choking without consent, to workplace sexual harassment" has risen to eight, according to the Toronto Star.

Trailer Park Boys actor Lucy DeCoutere is the first to go public with her name attached. She told the newspaper about a 2003 incident in which Ghomeshi allegedly choked and slapped her "without warning or consent".

"He did not ask if I was into it. It was never a question. It was shocking to me," DeCoutere said.

On October 26, Ghomeshi posted on Facebook that the allegations surfacing were "categorically untrue".

"I have always been interested in a variety of activities in the bedroom but I only participate in sexual practices that are mutually agreed upon, consensual, and exciting for both partners," Ghomeshi stated.

The Star reported on October 29 that two of the women who say they were assaulted at Ghomeshi's home recall being introduced by the former CBC host to "Big Ears Teddy", a stuffed bear.

"Big Ears Teddy shouldn’t see this," Ghomeshi told them, they claim, before he allegedly assaulted them.