Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes has filed a libel lawsuit against a woman that accused him of rape. According to the papers filed by Oberst, Joanie Faircloth posted in the comments section of website XOJane, where she stated that 10 years ago, Oberst's brother was her English teacher, that she met Oberst through that connection, and that he raped her after a show. The papers further allege that Faircloth refused to remove or recant the post after Oberst's team requested that she do so, and also that Faircloth wrote positive things about Oberst online between the time of the claimed rape and the XOJane post. Oberst is suing for $1 million and states that if he wins, the money will be donated to charities supporting victims of domestic abuse. You can click read more for Oberst's full statement.
Oberst's statement was first posted at Rolling Stone:
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 Fairclothâs 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 Fairclothâs 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.