Photo: Via @conoroberst.Joanie Faircloth, the woman who accused Bright Eyes' lead singer Conor Oberst of rape in December 2013, has recanted her accusations.
What began as a series of accusatory comments on an XOJane post quickly escalated to legal action as Oberst took out a defamation lawsuit against Faircloth, asking for $1 million in damages (the entirety of which was to be donated to organizations that support sexual-assault survivors), and demanding that she revoke her allegations. In the comments, Faircloth had initially claimed that Oberst had raped her backstage after a concert in 2003, when she was 16. "Conor took a lot from me including my virginity, my dignity, and self-esteem," she wrote.
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Oberst maintained that he had never met the woman.
Today, Faircloth released a signed affidavit (published in full on Flavorwire) recanting her previous stories: "The statements I made and repeated online and elsewhere over the past six months accusing Conor Oberst of raping me are 100% false."
She noted that she'd made the allegations during a period of extreme stress, but made it clear that this was no excuse for such an outrageous and damaging crime. "I realize that my actions were wrong and could undermine the claims of actual sexual assault victims and for that I also apologize."
Oberst has yet to comment on Faircloth's recantation. We'll continue to update as this story develops. (Flavorwire)