Verifying a Mystery
What happened when Hedley played The Embassy Hotel in 2005?
The 2018 announcement that Hedley lead singer Jacob Hoggard had been charged in relation to sexual assault may have been shocking news to some, but there were many Canadian music fans who weren’t at all surprised.
Aside from the multiple allegations that surfaced on twitter, rumours of the band’s alleged misdeeds go all the way back to their early days, according to Exclaim reporter Josiah Hughes who looked into one particular incident from 2005.
In a 2018 article for Exclaim titled Hedley Were Allegedly Investigated for Drugging Underage Concertgoer, Hughes wrote, “A story has now resurfaced regarding an alleged police investigation that involved an underage concertgoer being found outside a Hedley concert in London, ON, who had been drugged and possibly raped in 2005.”
According to longtime fans, the gossip and speculation about this incident was prolific on myspace and other now-defunct online forums and while today it remains something that everyone seems to know about, no one can really say for sure that it’s true.
Exclaim was the only media outlet with original reporting on the incident, and there was backlash from the Hedley extreme superfans who complained that the only named source of information is former employee Rob Bazinet. There is a note at the end of the article that states that other employee names were removed at their request, but we decided to look into the story some more.
Who did we speak with?
We first spoke with Rob Bazinet to clarify his original comments.
We then spoke with three other sources: person in a position of upper management authority at The Embassy at the time of the incident, and two employees who were working that night on security and behind the bar.
We know and have verified their real identities and their relation to the incident that night, but all three of them have asked to have their identities protected.
Clearing up credibility issues. Who was the general manager of The Embassy?
When Exclaim first posted the article on twitter, a user who identified themselves as a former sound tech who worked at The Embassy, tweeted a response that implied Rob wasn’t credible.
The article states: “Rob Bazinet worked at London's beloved all-ages venue the Embassy for 11 years, serving as its general manager until the venue burned down in 2009.”
The sound tech claimed that Rob was the bouncer, he was never a general manager, and “most of what he is saying is his own fantasy”.
It appears the sound tech deleted their tweet, but the extreme superfans screenshotted it to use in an effort to discredit the whole story. We tweeted the sound tech but they never replied, so we asked the other three sources from The Embassy if they had any insights into this. One employee declined to respond but the other said they weren’t surprised by that tweet because the sound tech and Rob Bazinet never really got along well.
We asked the person in the position of upper management authority who was also one of Rob’s bosses at the time: “Was Rob Bazinet the general manager of The Embassy Hotel or not?” They told me that Rob started with them as a bouncer at the bar and because of his personable manner and strong work ethic he was held in high regard by upper management., given more and higher responsibilities. While he didn’t hold the official job title of general manager, he frequently performed duties that would fall under that job description and was often treated as such by management and staff.
So job titles aside, Rob’s own former boss indicates that he was quite often acting as general manager.
We have determined him to be a credible source of information on this incident.
Verifying the details about the 2005 incident
In the article, Rob says he observed the band being jerks to everyone, which all three sources say is true. The person in the position of upper management authority said that only the person who booked the band knew who Hedley was; the rest of the staff that night didn’t know much about them other than the fact that Jacob Hoggard was on Canadian Idol the year before.
They recalled that when Hedley first arrived at the Embassy Hotel, the band members seemed nice at first, but when the fans started to arrive Jacob Hoggard in particular was “awful” to them, a total jerk, and they concluded the fame had gone to Jacob’s head. It was obvious from the tone of conversation around this particular question that Hedley had made quite the negative impression on staff that night.
In the Exclaim article, Rob Bazinet is quoted stating that after Hedley’s performance, he went to the “green room apartment” above the venue to check on them, to see if they had everything they needed and if their rider requirements had been fulfilled, which was part of his job.
One of the bedrooms had the door shut, and Rob said “when I went to go check it, the rest of the band got in the way”. Rob is quoted saying he doesn’t remember which member of Hedley was in the bedroom, but the remaining three band members barricaded him from entering, leaving him with the feeling that he would have to force his way in.
Assuming they wanted privacy, he turned around and went back downstairs. He said at some point he realized the band had packed up and left without anyone knowing, and then, the police showed up.
That is obviously Rob’s personal account of events that he witnessed in the course of doing his job and he still stands by what he said, but because no one else was there except the members of Hedley, there is no one else who can verify this part of the story.
The police searched the green room apartment
All our sources confirmed that the police did show up, and the person in the position of upper management authority confirmed they were permitted to search the green room apartment, which was exactly as Rob described. They told me that because of its separate location above the venue, it is likely that the band was able to leave without anyone noticing.
How the police linked The Embassy to their discovery of an unconscious girl
Our source in management also confirmed that the reason the police came to The Embassy was because the venue’s stamp was found on the hand of an unconscious teenage girl found on the street nearby. She also had a Black X on her hand, and she was missing her shoes.
Our source in upper management told me that The Embassy was close to the police station, and as an all-ages concert venue, management and staff had a good working relationship with local police in their efforts to be proactive in making sure underage fans were identified properly with the black Xs on their hand, and not served alcohol. Our source confirmed that it’s because of the stamp and the Black X that the police linked the girl to The Embassy and knew she was underage.
How police linked the unconscious girl to Hedley
Our source in upper management also confirmed that police found the girl’s missing shoes - distinctive leopard print flats - in the green room apartment bedroom, and that discovery is what linked her specifically to Hedley the band. Rob Bazinet has confirmed that there were other bands playing that day, but the green room apartment was specifically reserved for Hedley.
One of the other employees I spoke with recalled going to the green room shortly after the police had discovered the shoes and left with them. He said he went there as a secondary witness and he looked around and observed quote “the bed was a mess and there were a number of used condom wrappers scattered on the floor”.
There was an “ongoing investigation”
Rob was quoted in the article saying the police requested the venue keep the green room barricaded off for approximately one week, and they returned there several times. This was confirmed by the person in a position of upper management authority, who was there over the next week when the police returned several times citing an ongoing investigation.
It’s possible that London Police disclosed sensitive investigation details to Rob Bazinet
In the article, Rob claimed that the London police told him the girl was taken to hospital and she tested positive for the date rape drug rohypnol. He also claimed: “The police told us that the parents of the girl were contacted based on her identification. They consented to the rape kit, but before it could be performed she woke up and refused it.”
We’ve clarified this with Rob and he stands by his original comments; the only detail he said he wasn’t 100% sure about was whether the parents gave consent over the phone or in person.
One of the mysteries around this event is that it seems unlikely that the police would be giving live music venue employees sensitive information related to an ongoing investigation. We reached out to them to ask, and their media team responded: “We looked into the request, and we do not have anything to share.”
Because Rob stands by his comments, we asked the person in a position of upper management authority if they had any insights to share around this.
They said because of The Embassy’s frequent and close dealings with the police as an all-ages concert venue, the management and staff members knew many of the officers on duty at the time on a first name basis. Rob was described as a friendly and approachable person who knew everyone and had a way about him that made people feel comfortable opening up and telling him things, and his former boss says it’s possible that a London Police officer did feel comfortable confiding in Rob.
They also confirmed there was a police incident report, and it had been seen and read by members of upper management and at least one employee at the venue, including Rob Bazinet.
Hedley’s lawyers sent a cease and desist letter to The Embassy
The final part of the article is about Rob’s claim that the venue’s management were sent a cease and desist letter from a law firm on behalf of Hedley the band, their management, and their label. Rob was quoted in the article saying management took this letter seriously and warned staff and employees that they would “be fired” if they said anything more.
Our source in a position of upper management authority said Rob was being hyperbolic and the staff weren’t threatened with being fired per se, but everything else was true and it was taken seriously. They confirmed receipt of this letter, which said police had closed the investigation and advised them to stop any negative press about Hedley or there would be libel issues.
What now?
After verifying details with three additional people who were at The Embassy at the time, including one who was in a high level management position, we are satisfied that this incident did happen and there was a police investigation.
However, there is no way to confirm why the investigation was closed without comment from the London Police or the underage girl involved. It should be noted that there is no statute of limitations when it comes to sexual assault so she can come forward at any time. Sadly, we don’t advise it because of this, this and this.
