Justin Bieber has filed a $20 million lawsuit against two women who accused him of sexual assault on Twitter last week, the Blast and TMZ report.
On June 20, a woman identified as Danielle tweeted a lengthy statement (from an account that has since been removed) detailing an incident of alleged sexual assault that occured in March 2014 in Austin, Texas. Another woman, identified as Kadi, tweeted her own account of alleged sexual assault by Bieber that occurred the following year in New York.
Bieber subsequently denied Danielle’s claims on Twitter, providing numerous receipts and photos, describing his alleged whereabouts around the time of the alleged assault, and stated that he would be “working with twitter and authorities to take legal action.”
According to legal documents viewed by the Blast, the suit claims that both alleged victims “fraudulently schemed to seek attention and fame by maliciously posting despicable, blatantly false, fabricated, defamatory accusations that Justin Bieber engaged in sexual assault,” and that “it is abundantly clear that these two individuals are trying to capitalize on the climate of fear permeating the entertainment industry.” Bieber’s suit reportedly claims that he has “indisputable documentary evidence” to prove that the plaintiffs’ claims are “outrageous, fabricated lies.”
TMZ states that Bieber is suing for defamation, and that the $20 million in damages is a total amount derived from Danielle and Kadi owing $10 million each.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence and need to talk, we recommend these resources:
RAINN
https://rainn.org
1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text Line
https://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741