The woman who accused Bright Eyes singer Conor Oberst of rape last year has issued a statement retracting her claims.
Joanie Faircloth accused Oberst of raping her after a show in Durham, North Carolina in the comments section of the website XOJane in December 2013 and continued with the story in the months following.
Oberst immediately cited the allegation as false and sued Faircloth for libel in February. She never once responded to the lawsuit and her apology on Monday is the first time she’s legally made a statement. She notarised the retraction, which reads:
‘The statements I made and repeated online and elsewhere over the past six months accusing Conor Oberst of raping me are 100% false. I made up those lies about him to get attention while I was going through a difficult period in my life and trying to cope with my son’s illness. I publicly retract my statements about Conor Oberst, and sincerely apologise to him, his family, and his fans for writing such awful things about him. I realise that my actions were wrong and could undermine the claims of actual sexual assault victims and for that I also apologise. I’m truly sorry for all the pain that I caused.’
The allegations have apparently had a knock-on effect on Oberst’s career, whose recent album Upside Down Mountain saw sales lower than his previous records, according to his father and business manager, adding that the suit has come at a cost of $700,000 to Oberst, excluding lawers fees and travel expenses.
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.