In December 2013, an individual left a series of posts in the comments section of an XOJane article suggesting that she had been raped by Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes 10 years ago. Oberst’s publicist called the accusations “absolutely, unequivocally false,” and now, Oberst is suing for defamation.
The woman claimed to have been 16 years old at the time and allegedly wrote, “Conor took a lot from me including my virginity, my dignity, and self-esteem.”
Oberst says he has never met her, and that she had written positive things online about Oberst and Bright Eyes as recently as January 2013. He’s reportedly suing for more than $1 million and claims his reputation has been damaged by her accusations.
The statement from Oberst’s camp is below:
Today Conor Oberst filed a libel lawsuit in a New York federal court against Joanie Faircloth, a resident of North Carolina, who falsely accused him of rape in the comments section of the xoJane website in December of 2013 and again, some days later, on her Tumblr page. The suit counters Faircloth’s baseless allegations and states that Oberst never had any physical contact with her, either at the concert in Durham, NC at which she claims the attack took place, or at any other time. The only connection between Oberst and Faircloth was one of artist and fan – a fan who has posted laudatory comments about Oberst elsewhere online, including describing attending his band’s concert as the “Best memory ever!”
The lawsuit filed today outlines Faircloth’s history of inventing stories and personalities online in order to gain attention. Although her false statements about Oberst have since been deleted from the locations where they were initially posted online, Oberst’s suit alleges that her malicious lies spread across the Internet and are archived by multiple blogs. Through his attorneys, Oberst requested that Faircloth recant her false accusations, but she ignored the requests. Oberst has thus been forced to proceed with this libel suit in order to set the record straight and to clear his name.
Oberst is seeking to promote the truth and repair the distress this has brought upon him and his family. Oberst intends to donate the proceeds of this suit to charities benefitting the victims of violence against women.