Radio presenter Jian Ghomeshi arrives at CBC's Toronto studios for the recording of the 'Canada for Haiti' benefit show on Friday January 22, 2010. ``Q'' radio host Jian Ghomeshi is taking an "undetermined'' amount of time away from the CBC ``to deal with some personal issues,'' a spokesman for the public broadcaster confirmed Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Republished October 24, 2014 - 2:58 PM
Original Publication Date October 24, 2014 - 2:25 PM
TORONTO - "Q" radio host Jian Ghomeshi says he is taking some "much needed personal time" away from the CBC.
"Thanks for all the well wishes, you guys," he tweeted Friday after a spokesman from CBC confirmed the leave to The Canadian Press. "I'm ok."
CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson said Ghomeshi's hiatus was for an "undetermined" amount of time to deal with "personal issues."
Ghomeshi is scheduled to host the Scotiabank Giller Prize gala on CBC-TV on Nov. 10 in Toronto. It wasn't clear Friday whether he would still preside over the gala and a Giller spokeswoman did not immediately return calls for comment.
In a piece in the Globe and Mail earlier this month, the radio personality wrote that his heart was "broken" over the recent death of his father.
On Thursday's show, Ghomeshi presented an essay about Wednesday's shooting in Ottawa. He was not on the air for Friday's program, which was hosted by Piya Chattopadhyay.
"Q" — which Ghomeshi co-created — is a daily national talk show on CBC Radio One and CBC-TV featuring interviews with celebrities and prominent international figures.
One of Ghomeshi's most high-profile interviews was in 2009 with actor-musician Billy Bob Thornton, who wanted to talk about his musical endeavours and became gruff after the host asked him about his film career.
The cultural affairs program, which launched in 2007, is now broadcast on over 180 NPR/PRI stations and syndicated in the U.S.
The Toronto-based Ghomeshi, 47, is also a published author, with the 2012 memoir "1982" and articles in various papers. He also hosted the CBC-TV program "Play."
Ghomeshi, who was born in London and is of Iranian descent, first achieved notoriety as a musician with the folk-rock group Moxy Fruvous. Through Jian Ghomeshi Productions, he manages Juno-winning alt-pop musician Lights.
Ghomeshi has won several awards for his broadcasting and was named Best Media Personality in TV or radio by NOW Magazine in 2013.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014