{"id":20822,"date":"2022-04-27T06:19:21","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T06:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=20822"},"modified":"2022-04-27T06:19:21","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T06:19:21","slug":"dj-tim-westwood-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-by-seven-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2022\/04\/27\/dj-tim-westwood-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-by-seven-women\/","title":{"rendered":"DJ Tim Westwood accused of sexual misconduct by seven women"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">The renowned DJ Tim Westwood has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women who claim he misused his position in the music industry to take advantage of them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Three women have accused the DJ of opportunistic and predatory sexual behaviour, while four others allege they were groped by him at events.<\/p>\n<div id=\"sign-in-gate\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">The women, who were in their late teens or early 20s when they say the incidents happened, described their experiences to the Guardian and BBC News as part of a joint investigation into the former BBC Radio 1 DJ.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">The earliest alleged incident took place in 1992; the most recent in 2017.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">One of the women said: \u201cSomeone taking advantage of my naivety and lack of confidence isn\u2019t something that I should have to carry with shame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Westwood has strenuously denied all the allegations. A spokesperson said they were completely false and denied in their entirety.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"3349a7ae-39dc-4216-b7b8-80da60eaa097\" class=\" dcr-10khgmf\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.YoutubeBlockElement\">\n<div data-chromatic=\"ignore\" data-component=\"youtube-atom\">\n<div data-chromatic=\"ignore\" data-component=\"youtube-atom\">\n<div class=\"dcr-0\">\n<div class=\"dcr-0\">\n<div class=\"dcr-laouyh\"><button class=\"dcr-qyt1ws\" data-cy=\"youtube-overlay-JK97QOR22ww-3349a7ae-39dc-4216-b7b8-80da60eaa097\" data-testid=\"youtube-overlay-JK97QOR22ww-3349a7ae-39dc-4216-b7b8-80da60eaa097\" aria-label=\"Play video: Tim Westwood accused of sexual misconduct \u2013 video\"><\/button><button class=\"dcr-qyt1ws\" data-cy=\"youtube-overlay-JK97QOR22ww-3349a7ae-39dc-4216-b7b8-80da60eaa097\" data-testid=\"youtube-overlay-JK97QOR22ww-3349a7ae-39dc-4216-b7b8-80da60eaa097\" aria-label=\"Play video: Tim Westwood accused of sexual misconduct \u2013 video\"><img class=\"dcr-1989ovb\" alt=\"Tim Westwood accused of sexual misconduct \u2013 video\" width=\"460\" height=\"259\" \/><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-14wkmxc\">\n<div class=\"overlay-play-button dcr-eortmd\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-1bvwz3r\">00:34<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"dcr-16l0srv\"><span class=\"dcr-19x4pdv\">Tim Westwood accused of sexual misconduct \u2013 video<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">In response to the allegations on Tuesday the BBC said it was \u201cshocked\u201d. A spokesperson said: \u201cThe BBC is against all forms of inappropriate behaviour and we are shocked to hear of these allegations. The BBC has strict codes of conduct for all those engaged by the BBC, including on-air presenters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">In a statement at the time, Westwood denied any wrongdoing, saying the allegations online were fabricated, false and without foundation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">The Guardian and BBC, which has released a documentary on BBC Three about the story, have since spoken to seven women who make a range of separate allegations about the DJ\u2019s conduct.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"79c05ca7-5d96-4df9-9a08-f9a910bc22dd\" class=\" dcr-1sioudk\" data-spacefinder-role=\"supporting\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1b267dg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-1989ovb\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/ec249050c9d77c910a1d2cc43d801b7b33bb910f\/0_27_1990_2183\/master\/1990.jpg?width=300&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=358fed10497571b97ca64eaaf4c6b171\" alt=\"Westwood in 1999.\" width=\"1990\" height=\"2183\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"dcr-dbbjqe\"><span class=\"dcr-19x4pdv\">Tim Westwood in 1999. The veteran DJ remains a key figure in hip-hop music in the UK.<\/span>\u00a0Photograph: Andy Hall\/The Observer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Some of the women say they felt unable to talk about their experiences before. They feared their accounts would not be taken seriously because they were so young at the time the alleged incidents happened \u2013 and that racial discrimination would also lead people to minimise, dismiss or ignore their claims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">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 at the time of the alleged incidents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">A further four women claim the DJ groped them while they were having a picture taken with him after one of his nightclub performances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">The Guardian and BBC know the identities of all the women, who are not known to each other and have never spoken. None of the women had reported their interactions to the police; all have asked to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Now 64, Westwood has been one of the best-known names in hip-hop and rap in the UK for the past 40 years. He became the genre\u2019s unmistakable voice when he started hosting BBC Radio 1\u2019s first Rap Show in 1994, credited with giving fresh talent an unparalleled platform while enticing the biggest rappers in the world \u2013 from Public Enemy to Jay-Z \u2013 onto his show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Westwood has always courted a degree of controversy, often playing to a bad-boy image with on-mic banter that can be provocative and sexually explicit. In 1999, he was injured in a drive-by shooting, with one bullet going through the seat of the car he was in and another through his arm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">He became a key figure in black music in the UK and was named best DJ at the Mobo (Music of Black Origin) awards multiple times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">After 20 years, the self-styled Big Dawg, left Radio 1, as part of a shake-up of its Saturday night schedule, and now hosts a show on Capital Xtra as well as regular club nights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">A source at the BBC said the allegations were \u201cappalling and disturbing\u201d and said the corporation was not \u201csitting on\u201d any information that would aid an investigation into the former Radio 1 DJ.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Lawyers acting for Westwood said he was a well-respected and highly successful DJ. They said he strenuously denied in their entirety the serious allegations being made against him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cAny suggestion that he acts, or has acted, in the way described would be false and seriously defamatory.\u201d They said he wanted to make clear that he did not behave in the manner described.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">The Guardian has approached Global, the parent company of Capital Xtra, where Westwood is currently employed, for comment.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>T<\/strong><strong>he women<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"ae615cf9-c65b-4dde-86f0-b7879ace8193\" class=\" dcr-10khgmf\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1b267dg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-1989ovb\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/71d62702657711c76d749ad7f3cf49e049ba20c1\/60_0_1800_1080\/master\/1800.jpg?width=445&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=1b0f35b183c06bd31bba28fb60848c97\" alt=\"Silhouette of a woman\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1080\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"dcr-5yynor\"><span class=\"dcr-19x4pdv\">Isabel: \u2018I didn\u2019t have any sort of guard up for that situation.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0Photograph: Supplied by BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Isabel<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Isabel* was 19 when she says she was the victim of Westwood\u2019s alleged predatory behaviour in 2010. He was 53 at the time. The university graduate described wanting to pursue a career in music \u2013 she grew up in the Midlands, singing gospel and writing her own songs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">When she discovered Westwood was DJing at a nightclub in her home town in 2010, she says she hoped to get her music into his hands. \u201cAt that moment, he was the main gatekeeper for access to what I needed to do,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She described to the Guardian and BBC putting together a demo CD, with her contact details inside, and says she went to the nightclub, supported by her best friend and stepmother.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Isabel says they managed to give the CD to the DJ, who, to her excitement, called her the next day and suggested meeting in London. \u201cWe were thinking that this is a really good lead at this point,\u201d she says. \u201cHe wants to act on this quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says a few days later she took the train to London for an afternoon meeting and met Westwood at Oxford Circus, where he picked her up in his car. Isabel says her \u201ccomplete assumption\u201d was that they were going somewhere to talk about her music. \u201cThe phone call was the only interaction we\u2019d had before that,\u201d she says. \u201cThere was nothing flirtatious or romantic about the nature of the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">But she says that when the journey lasted longer than she expected and her surroundings became unfamiliar, she started to become anxious. \u201cWe got in the car. He made the most minimal amount of small talk. I could tell that he wasn\u2019t particularly interested in the music thing,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Isabel says she was looking away from him but then turned to find Westwood had undone his trousers and was exposing himself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cI didn\u2019t actually see him undo his trousers. What alerted me to the fact that he was exposing himself was the fact that he actually tapped me to turn around to look. I\u2019ve looked and I\u2019ve seen and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, no, oh no, like, oh my God\u2019,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Isabel says she felt scared but unable to get herself out of the situation. She says they arrived at a flat, which she believes was his, where he offered her a drink \u2013 which she refused.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">It was in this flat, which Isabel says was strewn with records, that she claims she was the victim of a second episode of opportunistic and predatory sexual behaviour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She claims that when Westwood came back from getting himself a drink in another room, he was naked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cThat\u2019s when I noticed that he\u2019s got a condom and he\u2019s removed it [from the packet] and started putting it on,\u201d she says, adding that she recognised the condom from a campaign Westwood had done with the brand Durex \u2013 which he promoted at events.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cI remember the packet because they had this slogan on it. They had his face on the other side,\u201d she says. \u201cI remember him throwing it down. I remember the fact that it was yellow. Like, I remember that very vividly because I remember that was kind of when my brain also started to shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says Westwood initiated sex, and although she did not vocalise her misgivings, she was \u201cfrozen\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cI didn\u2019t have any sort of guard up for that situation,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s all very reactive \u2026 because it\u2019s just happening. And the shock factor of it is so overwhelming that it kind of disorientates the rest of the way you think. It\u2019s like you\u2019re stunned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Isabel says Westwood then left the room. When he returned she had her bag on her lap to indicate she wanted to leave, and he took her to a train station.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says that as he dropped her off he tried to give her one of his mix CDs but she refused.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Isabel says she felt \u201cstupid\u201d on the train journey home. \u201cI just remember feeling so deflated. So sad. Feeling really ashamed of myself and bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says she remembers getting a text message from her friend who had been waiting to hear how the meeting had gone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cI didn\u2019t say what happened but I sent a text to let her know like we didn\u2019t listen, it didn\u2019t happen. We didn\u2019t listen to my music \u2026 it\u2019s not gone down like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Isabel\u2019s stepmother told the BBC and Guardian the whole family had been excited about Isabel meeting the DJ, hoping for a breakthrough in her career. But she knew instinctively that something \u201cwas wrong\u201d when her stepdaughter would not talk about the meeting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">But she says after she heard Isabel\u2019s story, she felt guilty for not chaperoning her \u2013 and says she cried when Isabel disclosed that her silence was partly due to fears that her family would be disappointed in her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Like others the Guardian and BBC spoke to, Isabel says she became aware in 2020 of allegations being made by women on social media alleging misconduct by Westwood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Isabel says she is telling her story now because she felt what had happened to her was an abuse of the DJ\u2019s position.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cIt is a privilege to be able to do what you love as a job and it\u2019s a privilege to be given a platform to do it on,\u201d she says. \u201cSo it\u2019s a massive violation when you abuse that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Westwood has strenuously denied acting in the manner described by Isabel.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Pamela<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Pamela\u2019s* story shares similarities with Isabel\u2019s. Now in her 40s, Pamela was 20 when she says she first met the DJ through friends. It was 2000 and she was active in the youth rap scene, working with aspiring young musicians. The DJ \u2013 then in his 40s \u2013 wanted to connect with a younger audience and asked her to do work experience with him, she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says he reassured her mother on the phone, and Pamela travelled to London to meet him for work experience. But when Westwood picked her up from King\u2019s Cross train station in a large American-style car he soon began touching her leg and face while he was driving, she alleges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says while she was batting his hand away he was not concentrating on the road and was driving erratically. A police officer on a motorbike pulled up alongside the car and knocked on the passenger window. Pamela says she sat in silence as Westwood apologised and was told to keep his eyes on the road.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Pamela says she had expected to stay on her own in a hotel, although this had not been discussed, and instead she says he drove her to what she understood to be his flat. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to do an internship somewhere, you\u2019re not expecting for that person to take you to their house. That\u2019s unprofessional,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">After some hours, the DJ sat next to her and tried to kiss her neck and remove items of her clothing, she says, adding that she moved away, trying to replace them. \u201cI didn\u2019t give him any kind of come-on. There was no flirtation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says when Westwood initiated sex, she remembers thinking she could not get out of the situation. \u201cI\u2019m in London alone with this man. Now if I try to get out of this, who\u2019s to say how he\u2019s going to react. So I just submit to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says she has not spoken about the encounterin its entirety, until now. \u201cPeople like me don\u2019t ever get believed when we speak about stuff like this, so we don\u2019t,\u201d she says, adding that she found the encounter \u201ctraumatic\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cIt was disgusting and I felt like shit afterwards, really disgusting,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says the work experience he offered never happened, and she went home as soon as she could.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Pamela later spoke to a friend who works in the music industry and they encouraged her to talk about her experience in this investigation.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Tamara<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Tamara* says she first met Westwood when she was a 17-year-old member of a British R&amp;B group and he was in his mid-30s and the \u201cNo 1 hip-hop DJ at the time\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says when he asked if she wanted to \u201chang out\u201d, she thought it was to talk about her career. \u201cHe could make or break your career,\u201d she says. \u201cIf 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cWithin the recording industry and the black community, despite him being a white man, he had absolute power.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"402bc400-f7f7-431d-8cba-e34544bb7711\" class=\" dcr-1sioudk\" data-spacefinder-role=\"supporting\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1b267dg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-1989ovb\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/30b21026e7719a2c0cbd6de553d3afa01794a0ef\/0_0_4032_3024\/master\/4032.jpg?width=300&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=7d087d72a1d03da03294ff40ba2cf1bd\" alt=\"Silhouette of a woman in a video camera viewfinder\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"dcr-dbbjqe\"><span class=\"dcr-19x4pdv\">Tamara: \u2018He had absolute power.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0Photograph: Supplied by BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">But Tamara says that once they were in a flat she believes was his, without saying anything he pulled down her trousers and underwear. She claims he then began performing oral sex on her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cThere was no talking. There was no kind of communication about that. It was just before I knew it, that\u2019s what was happening,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Tamara says she was taken aback and at first tried to push his head and shoulders away. \u201cAnd then I realised that, you know what? I\u2019m in a position where it\u2019s already gone too far,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cI\u2019m already far from home. I wouldn\u2019t even know how to leave this particular place. I wouldn\u2019t know how to get home from here &#8230; Then he finishes and it\u2019s as if that hadn\u2019t happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">The woman says they then had casual sex two or three times over a period of three years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Looking back at those encounters, Tamara says she was so young she lacked \u201cthe strength and courage\u201d to say: \u201c\u2018No \u2026 I don\u2019t feel right about this\u2019, because I didn\u2019t feel right about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Now with a daughter in her 20s, Tamara says she has decided to share her experience for the first time after her daughter showed her the online allegations about Westwood that surfaced in 2020, adding that she was concerned his ongoing regular club nights meant he was often in contact with young women.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">In 2021, Tamara watched the\u00a0BBC documentary Music\u2019s Dirty Secrets\u00a0and contacted the producers asking them to investigate the DJ.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Farah<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">The Guardian and BBC also spoke to four other women who claim they were groped by Westwood when they posed for a picture with him, after he had performed DJ sets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">The Guardian and BBC have seen the Snapchat footage and the images the women say were taken during the encounters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">The earliest dates to 2000, when Farah* was 19 and working with a promotional street team during Bristol carnival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Afterwards she says she met Westwood, then in his mid-40s, at an afterparty and recalls him asking about her work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says when the event had finished, the street team gathered to take a photograph with the DJ, but as it was being taken he put his hand inside her T-shirt and grabbed her breast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cJust the thought of somebody doing that \u2013 I felt cold. And I felt dirty. I felt humiliated, embarrassed. That I\u2019d done something wrong,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Claire<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Two women allege they were groped in 2009, when the DJ was in his early 50s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">In the summer, Claire*, then 20, went to a nightclub in Ayia Napa \u2013 the DJ had been playing and she says she queued to take a photograph with him after his set. But as her friend was taking the picture, she claims Westwood said \u201clemme grab some ass\u201d and put his hand down the back of her denim shorts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cAs I was shocked, I froze and felt very intimidated,\u201d she says. \u201cHe then started asking if I was interested in going back to where he was staying to \u2018chill\u2019, as I was stood, still mentally trying to process what just happened.\u201d She says she turned down the offer.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Loretta<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"1a4986fb-6a23-47e7-a520-8aa75cf5a057\" class=\" dcr-10khgmf\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1b267dg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-1989ovb\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a6f38f64e43e9f428cfa8fde83afaf95294a1bfc\/68_0_1463_878\/master\/1463.jpg?width=445&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=bddd5e76c1ca7467700069c38619a738\" alt=\"Silhouette of a woman in front of neon lights\" width=\"1463\" height=\"878\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"dcr-5yynor\"><span class=\"dcr-19x4pdv\">Loretta says she was a teenager when Westwood allegedly groped her in an Essex nightclub.<\/span>\u00a0Photograph: Supplied by BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Later in the year, before Christmas, Loretta* says she also posed for a photograph with the DJ after he had performed at a nightclub in Essex. The then 19-year-old says she felt the DJ\u2019s hand go down her back and grab her bottom, before resting on her neck.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cIn that moment, I was kind of frozen and I didn\u2019t really know how to react,\u201d she says. \u201cI mean, I know how I would react now as a grown woman, but as a teenager, I really didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Nyla<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Nyla* says she met Westwood nine years later, in 2017, when she was 22 and he was 59 and DJing at a New Year\u2019s Day event in London.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">She says he got his security to ask her on stage, and when she did he used the microphone to declare her \u201cthe pengest girl in the rave\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">At the end of the night she says her friend wanted a video of the DJ. While the pair posed, Nyla says Westwood moved his hand down her back and up the back of her skirt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cI couldn\u2019t really do anything to stop it or prevent it. So it felt like that had been taken out of my hands,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"99224177-e49f-4aed-974c-b3005bb4a5ee\" class=\" dcr-10khgmf\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1b267dg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-1989ovb\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/ddb3d5410d191a9fb9ca4063f4068c894b321d99\/60_0_1800_1080\/master\/1800.jpg?width=445&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=b3cd6ceb41c74cf524abe1113f115cc1\" alt=\"Silhouette of a woman in front of neon lights\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1080\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"dcr-5yynor\"><span class=\"dcr-19x4pdv\">Nyla: \u2018I couldn\u2019t really do anything to stop it or prevent it.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0Photograph: Supplied by BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">Nyla says Westwood called her the next day on Snapchat \u2013 she thinks after getting her number from a guest list \u2013 \u201casking if I want to hang out and stuff\u201d and telling her she did not have to come alone and could bring friends. She says before long she ended the conversation and blocked his number.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cSometimes I just feel like his persona or his kind of stage character, people take that really lightly and see it as something that\u2019s sort of satirical when actually it\u2019s not really funny,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\">\u201cI didn\u2019t have a chance to voice my own opinion in that moment. I didn\u2019t really feel like a human. I just felt objectified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-xry7m2\"><em>*Names have been changed.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The renowned DJ Tim Westwood has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women who claim he misused his position in the music industry to take advantage of them. Three women have accused the DJ of opportunistic and predatory sexual behaviour, while four others allege they were groped by him at events. The women, who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":20823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[4791,4836,11261,6850,11264,5722,2735,2701,6573,8157,8241,5268,262,10387,11583,13175,8924,5110,7711,12266,7593,8590,2808,9520,6121,7378,11180,9478,6778,920,5455,746,6225,12248,1445,10453,9997,11111,10197,119,3874,3684,6220,9833,9701,5058,8999,9213,7968,11973,6332,12238,7039,8386,421,12767,9028,10722,5655,7584,6120,6808,5349,11325,7333,10023,9766,6119,9616,12605,214,8033,6571,5273,5320,10415,36,594,5140,5784],"class_list":["post-20822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-abuse","tag-access","tag-accused","tag-aid","tag-allegations","tag-anonymous","tag-bbc","tag-behaviour","tag-black","tag-black-community","tag-breast","tag-british","tag-bullet","tag-campaign","tag-capital","tag-car","tag-chance","tag-christmas","tag-cold","tag-condom","tag-controversy","tag-conversation","tag-daughter","tag-discrimination","tag-dj","tag-dj-tim-westwood","tag-drink","tag-dropped","tag-engaged","tag-episode","tag-family","tag-feel","tag-friends","tag-frozen","tag-god","tag-guard","tag-guilty","tag-injured","tag-investigation","tag-jay-z","tag-lead","tag-london","tag-love","tag-meeting","tag-midlands","tag-music","tag-naked","tag-new-year","tag-nine","tag-one","tag-online","tag-oral","tag-phone","tag-platform","tag-police","tag-predatory-behaviour","tag-rap","tag-removed","tag-security","tag-sex","tag-sexual-misconduct","tag-shares","tag-social-media","tag-street","tag-summer","tag-take-that","tag-teens","tag-tim-westwood","tag-train","tag-uk","tag-university","tag-video","tag-white","tag-woman","tag-women","tag-work","tag-world","tag-who","tag-young","tag-youth"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}