Bright Eyes singer/songwriter Conor Oberst was accused of rape by Joanie Faircloth in comments she made via an xoJane story last year. Faircloth has now recanted those claims in a notarized letter shared today by a representative for Oberst.
Her accusations of being sexually assaulted by Oberst after a 2003 show in Durham, North Carolina (she would have been 16 at the time) spread via social media leading the singer to eventually sue for libel in February. She had written that Oberst “took a lot from me including my virginity, my dignity, and my self-esteem.”
Here is the text of the letter:
“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 apologize to him, his family, and his fans for writing such awful things about him. I realize that my actions were wrong and could undermine the claims of actual sexual assault victims and for that I also apologize. I’m truly sorry for all the pain that I caused.”
Faircloth shared the following video about her son Alex and his fight against FSGS on November 16, 2013 via YouTube:
Oberst’s publicist said today, “Ms. Faircloth had no physical contact with Mr. Oberst at the Durham, NC show she claimed was the location of the alleged sexual assault.”
TMZ reported that Oberst was seeking over $1 million in damages. Until this letter, Faircloth had made no attempt to defend herself legally.
