Emily Caulkett-
DJ Tim Westwood faces horrifying multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by women who say he abused his position in the music industry to exploit them.
The 64-year-old is accused of predatory and unwanted sexual behaviour and touching, in incidents between 1992 and 2017.
The DJ was an early champion of hip-hop in the UK and hosted the first nationally-broadcast rap show on UK radio from 1994.
The BBC and The Guardian who conducted detailed investigations of the claims have spoken to several of the alleged victims. met Westwood through his work. Some of them accuse the DJ of abusing his power within the music industry.
The women were in their late teens or early 20s when the alleged incidents happened. The earliest alleged incident reportedly took place in 1992; the most recent in 2017.
None of the women know each other, yet each of them has given very disturbing details about their experiences with the well known Dj.
Three of the women have accused Westwood of opportunistic and predatory sexual behaviour when they agreed to meet him, thinking they would be discussing the music industry or their own work. They were 17, 19 and 20 respectively at the time of the alleged incidents.
A further four women claim the DJ groped them while they were having a picture taken with him after one of his nightclub performances.
A statement from a representative for Westwood to the PA news agency said: “Tim Westwood strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
“In a career that has spanned 40 years, there have never been any complaints made against him officially or unofficially.
“Tim Westwood strongly rejects all allegations of wrongdoing.”
After almost 20 years on Radio 1, he left the station in 2013 and currently has a Saturday night show on Capital XTRA, where he is referred to as “The Big Dawg”.
The women tell their stories in a BBC Three documentary, Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power, which airs on BBC Three at 21:00 on Tuesday.
Two of them, who were aspiring to work in the industry, say they agreed to come to London to meet him to discuss music. They accuse the DJ of driving them to a flat and initiating unwanted and unexpected sex. One was 19 at the time, while Westwood was 53.
Another woman told the BBC she met Westwood, then in his mid-30s, when she was 17 and a member of a R&B group. She claims to have been subjected to unwanted oral sex after agreeing to meet him.
Four further young women accuse the DJ of either touching their bottoms or breasts as they posed for photographs with him at different events where he was performing.
Allegations about Westwood’s behaviour toward young black women have circulated on social media for some time. In 2020, Westwood issued a statement to the Mail Online hitting out at the “fabricated allegations” and said they were false and without foundation.
The women, who are all black, decided to tell their stories in the aftermath of anonymous allegations of inappropriate behaviour about Westwood circulating on social media in June 2020.
In a statement at the time, Westwood denied any wrongdoing, saying the allegations online were fabricated, false and without foundation.