A new set of allegations have been made against the British hip-hop DJ Tim Westwood.
One woman, who uses the pseudonym Esther, has recently come out and accused Westwood of being a “predator”, claiming he had sex with her several times when she was just 14 years old. She also said that Westwood, now 64, was in his 30s when they had sex for the first time, per the BBC.
Nine other Black women have also come forward with allegations against Tim Westwood—four of which were under 18 at the time of the alleged acts—adding to the initial list of women that came forward back in April. Westwood’s lawyers have said that he denies the serious allegations being made against him, and claims that are “false” and “defamatory”.
Esther, who had previously wanted to put the experience “in a box and throw away the key”, said that her encounters with Westwood began when she met him in 1990 at the Arch nightclub in Vauxhall, South London. She has alleged that Westwood had sex with her on multiple occasions, despite knowing her age. Now in her 40s, Esther says she wants women with similar stories to feel less alone.
Another allegation claims that Westwood began a “controlling” relationship with a woman when she was just 16 years of age. Another woman, who worked for the DJ when she was 18 in 2003, claims that Westwood manipulated his position as her boss and a much older man to have sex with her.
BBC Director General Tim Davie has said that these claims will be investigated and the findings published within two weeks. “We have an internal audit separate to myself working with the senior independent director, Nick Serota, going through now,” Davie said, “responding to anything that is coming into us. We have no objective apart from to ensure everything is flushed out and we understand exactly what happened with regards to the BBC and also to do the right thing and [ensure] any cases are looked at.”
