Skip to main content

Buck 65 in Toronto on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

CBC says its Radio 2 drive-time host Rich Terfry – a musician who is also known by his stage name Buck 65 – will be on air as usual this afternoon, less than a day after posting an extraordinary message on Facebook in which he apologized for his "cheating and lying" ways, and declared: "I'm not the person you think I am."

In the message, posted Sunday afternoon, Terfry writes: "I've destroyed every important relationship in my life by cheating and lying. That includes my marriage. Being honest has been a big problem for me for a long time. I've treated a lot of people very badly. I've toyed with people's hearts. I've manipulated and tricked people. I've created a false image of myself here and with my music. I haven't been a good person. At all. I've made myself look like a victim of the people I hurt. I can't do that any more. So the first step I need to take is to let the world know. I want this to be the first of many steps I take to become a better person. I need a LOT of help with that."

He continues: "I'm sorry. To the good people I've hurt recently. I'm sorry to the people I've hurt in the past. I'm sorry to everyone for making you believe I'm something I'm not. I'm a shitty person. I need help. Like I said, this is just a first step."

The note is signed "Rich / Buck," and adds "(this is not a hack)."

Yesterday afternoon, Terfry asked on Twitter: "Can anyone in Toronto recommend a good therapist? I haven't had the best luck finding one."

Terfry's wife left him more than three years ago, an incident which inspired him to make the album Neverlove, which he released last fall. Its song titles include That's the Way Love Dies, Roses in the Rain and She Fades. In describing the song Heart of Stone, Terfry wrote on Facebook: "Some of my priorities have changed. There are mistakes I made in the past that I'll never make again. It's still very difficult for me to see the failure of my marriage as a positive thing or something that was meant to be, but I do think I'm a better and wiser person now because of it."

On Monday afternoon, a CBC spokesman said the public broadcaster was confident Terfry had not acted inappropriately in the workplace. His unusual admission comes only days after CBC released an exhaustive third-party report that found Jian Ghomeshi had serially harassed, bullied, and belittled co-workers, and had subjected at least one to sexual harassment. In response to the report, CBC management apologized to Canadians and pledged to do better.

"The Ghomeshi incident was the exception, not the norm," spokesman Chuck Thompson said. "Rich has self-identified as having a personal issue that he needs to deal with, and we will give him the support that he needs at this time."

He added that interviews with Terfry's co-workers conducted Monday have led managers there to believe "there are no indications that this matter has crossed over into the workplace."

Terfry removed the Facebook post shortly after noon on Monday.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe