Conor Oberst is best known as the frontman of the mopey folk-rock project Bright Eyes, and he's now facing serious rape allegations after being accused of sexual assault by an online commenter.
The accusations were made in December anonymously in the comments section of an article on xoJane.com. The alleged incident is said to have happened 10 years ago, when the commenter was 16. According to the alleged victim, Oberst's brother was her English teacher, and he arranged for her to meet the singer after a show. She says that no one believed her claims at the time.
The posts subsequently made the rounds on Tumblr and can be read here. Absolute Punk notes that the accuser started a blog, but this now appears to have been deleted.
Oberst's publicist has issued a statement to Absolute Punk in response to the claims, denying that they are true and vowing to consult with a lawyer. The statement reads:
Usually we wouldn't feel the urge to comment on spurious blog chatter but the recent allegations made about Conor Oberst by an anonymous commenter on the xoJane website are flagrant enough to demand our response. This individual's accusations are absolutely, unequivocally false. Unfortunately, the internet allows for groundless statements like this to travel the world before the truth has any time to surface. This is a particularly serious and sickening allegation and there is no truth to it. Conor has nothing but abhorrence for the perpetrators of such crimes of sexual violence. The behaviour attributed to him by this individual is in direct opposition to his principles. Conor is consulting with a libel attorney regarding this matter.
The accusations were made in December anonymously in the comments section of an article on xoJane.com. The alleged incident is said to have happened 10 years ago, when the commenter was 16. According to the alleged victim, Oberst's brother was her English teacher, and he arranged for her to meet the singer after a show. She says that no one believed her claims at the time.
The posts subsequently made the rounds on Tumblr and can be read here. Absolute Punk notes that the accuser started a blog, but this now appears to have been deleted.
Oberst's publicist has issued a statement to Absolute Punk in response to the claims, denying that they are true and vowing to consult with a lawyer. The statement reads:
Usually we wouldn't feel the urge to comment on spurious blog chatter but the recent allegations made about Conor Oberst by an anonymous commenter on the xoJane website are flagrant enough to demand our response. This individual's accusations are absolutely, unequivocally false. Unfortunately, the internet allows for groundless statements like this to travel the world before the truth has any time to surface. This is a particularly serious and sickening allegation and there is no truth to it. Conor has nothing but abhorrence for the perpetrators of such crimes of sexual violence. The behaviour attributed to him by this individual is in direct opposition to his principles. Conor is consulting with a libel attorney regarding this matter.
