Earlier this year, Bright Eyes songwriter Conor Oberst responded to rape allegations from an online commenter by filing a $1 million libel lawsuit. Now, his accuser has come forward and admitted that she was lying via an official public apology.
In the statement, Joanie Faircloth (born Joan Elizabeth Harris) retracted her statements and confessed that she had made up the story for attention. The 28-year-old North Carolina resident said that she was trying to cope with her son's illness.
Her signed and notarized statement is as follows:
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 originally posted her claims in the comments section of xoJane.com, saying that Oberst had raped her as a teenager a decade ago. Her comments were deleted, but they continued to make the rounds on the internet.
Rumours recently spread that Oberst had been dropped from his record label in the wake of the accusations, but this turned out to be false.
In the statement, Joanie Faircloth (born Joan Elizabeth Harris) retracted her statements and confessed that she had made up the story for attention. The 28-year-old North Carolina resident said that she was trying to cope with her son's illness.
Her signed and notarized statement is as follows:
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 originally posted her claims in the comments section of xoJane.com, saying that Oberst had raped her as a teenager a decade ago. Her comments were deleted, but they continued to make the rounds on the internet.
Rumours recently spread that Oberst had been dropped from his record label in the wake of the accusations, but this turned out to be false.