Tim Westwood accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women
The former BBC Radio 1 DJ has strenuously denied the allegations
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Your support makes all the difference.DJ Tim Westwood has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.
Westwood, 64, is accused of predatory and unwanted sexual behaviour and touching, during incidents alleged to have taken place between 1992 and 2017.
The allegations have been published in a joint investigation by the BBC and The Guardian. Westwood strenuously denies the allegations and a spokesperson also told The Guardian that the allegations are completely false.
The seven women, who are all black, gave detailed accounts in the aftermath of anonymous allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Westwood, which were circulated on social media in June 2020.
In a statement at the time, Westwood denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations were fabricated, false and without foundation.
Some of the new accusers have claimed the DJ, who was an early supporter of hip-hop in the UK, used his position in the music industry to exploit women.
They will share their accounts in a new BBC Three documentary, Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power, which will air at 9pm tonight (Tuesday 26 April) and is available now on BBC iPlayer. Their names have been changed to protect their identities.
One of the accusers, using the name Isabel, claimed that Westwood drove her to a flat and initiated unwanted sex when she was 19 and he was 53.
She said she had been hoping to get into the music industry at the time and had hoped Westwood would be able to help her. She said she felt “completely powerless” and “very, very scared” when he allegedly exposed his genitals to her in a car, while driving her out of central London.
She alleged that later, at the flat, she was sitting in a chair “frozen with fear” when he held her shoulders, turned her around, and penetrated her.
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Another woman alleged she was 17 and in an R&B group when Westwood, then in his mid-thirties, subjected her to unwanted oral sex.
“He could make or break your career,” the woman, calling herself Tamara, said. “If you wanted to get any kind of exposure, you would try to get your demo to him and pray that he would play it. He had absolute power.
“Within the recording industry and the black community, despite him being a white man, he had absolute power.”
Other women accuse the DJ of touching their bottoms and breasts when they posed with him in photographs at events where he was playing.
Westwood worked on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra for nearly 20 years from 1994, when he joined to host the first national rap show in the UK.
In 2013, he left the BBC to work at Capital Xtra where he presents a show on Saturday nights.
He was named Best UK Radio DJ at the Mobo (Music of Black Origin) Awards in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
The Independent has contacted Westwood’s representatives for comment.