Conor Oberst has filed a lawsuit against a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 16 and Oberst was in his 20s in the comments section of a blog. Oberst is claiming the comments are libellous and is seeking monetary damages, attorney fees, and other costs.
Oberst responded to the allegations earlier this year via his publicist, who released a statement in which the woman’s claims were dismissed as “spurious blog chatter” and “absolutely, unequivocally false” and stated that he was consulting with a libel attorney regarding the matter.
As the AP reports, Oberst’s attorney filed the civil suit in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, claiming the woman is a reputed “pathological liar” who made “despicable, false, outrageous, and defamatory statements” against Oberst.
According to the suit, Faircloth has a “history of spinning tales and fabricating sexually themed stories about others to benefit herself.” Writing in the comments section of the website xoJane, she claimed Oberst physically and sexually assaulted her after being introduced at one of his concerts.
Oberst claims that the media coverage that ensued after the posts were made damaged his career, particularly in New York where most of the major music publishing groups are based. Oberst says he was never with Faircloth when she claims and cites positive comments made by her online.
Oberst was slated to make a return to Australia as part of Soundwave Festival 2014 this weekend, with his post-hardcore outfit Desaparecidos, but dropped out earlier this week due to what was later announced as “the ill health of a close family member.”
