Conor Oberst is going to court. Yesterday (Feb. 19), the Bright Eyes/Desaparecidos frontman filed a libel lawsuit in the New York federal courts against an XOJane reader who said the singer-songwriter raped her in an anonymous comment on the story "I Dated a Famous Rock Star & All I Got Was Punched in the Face."
In a deleted comment and a deleted Tumblr blog, the now-identified woman Joanie Faircloth claimed that Oberst's brother was her English teacher in high school and got her access to the singer at a concert when she was 16 years old, according to Rolling Stone. "At first, I was flattered when he was playing with my hair and had his hand on my leg. It was like my dream come true at that point. But then he clearly wanted to go further and I made it very clear and told him I was a virgin and wasn't prepared to change that right then but he didn't stop," she wrote.
Oberst's lawsuit claims that he has never had any personal contact with Faircloth and that their only relationship is one between a musician and a fan. Furthermore, Oberst claims that as recent as January 2013, Faircloth has been commenting positive things about him and his music on online forums, including saying the concert she attended at 16 was the best moment of her life.
Oberst is seeking $1 million in damages from Faircloth, after repeated attempts to get her to recant her statements through his lawyers. He claims the accusations have had a negative effect on his family life and career/reputation. According to a statement, he will donate all the money from the lawsuit to charities for victim's of domestic violence.
Read the full statement regarding the lawsuit 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."
