Justin Bieber drops $20M defamation lawsuit against sexual assault accusers
Canadian pop star Justin Bieber asked a judge to dismiss his $20-million defamation lawsuit against two Twitter users who accused him of sexual assault.
The suit, which was filed in 2020, was voluntarily dismissed in Los Angeles court on Friday. A lawyer representing Bieber, 28, told Billboard the singer had “decided to move on.”
Court documents did not reveal whether Bieber and the defendants reached a settlement.
The $20-million lawsuit was filed after two Twitter users, a woman known only as “Danielle” (@danielleglvn) and Khadidja Djibrine (@ItsnotKadi), alleged Bieber assaulted them on separate occasions in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
Bieber sued the two women just days after they posted their claims to Twitter, calling the accusations made at the time “factually impossible.”
Every claim of sexual abuse should be taken very seriously and this is why my response was needed. However this story is factually impossible and that is why I will be working with twitter and authorities to take legal action.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 22, 2020
Rumors are rumors but sexual abuse is something I don’t take lightly. I wanted to speak out right away but out of respect to so many victims who deal with these issues daily I wanted to make sure I gathered the facts before I made any statement.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 22, 2020
Just last month, representatives for Bieber and Djibrine said mediation had been unsuccessful and a court date was tentatively set for May.
According to NBC, the initial defamation complaint said the Twitter users “fraudulently schemed to seek attention and fame by maliciously posting despicable, blatantly false, fabricated, defamatory accusations that Justin Bieber engaged in sexual assault.”
In a since-deleted tweet from June 20, 2020, Danielle — whose account no longer exists — claimed she had met Bieber after one of his surprise performances at a SXSW show in Austin, Texas, on the evening of March 9, 2014. She alleged that he invited her and her friends to a Four Seasons hotel and he assaulted her there. She said she was 21 at the time and that Bieber was 20.
Bieber disputed these claims on Twitter when the allegations were made, and again later through his lawyer, arguing he did not have a room at the Four Seasons hotel.
He also claimed there was ample evidence to prove he spent the night with then-girlfriend Selena Gomez when Danielle alleged the assault took place.
Furthermore I stayed with Selena and our friends at an airbnb on the 9th and on the 10th stayed at a Westin because our hotel reservation at LÀ Quinta and not the four seasons was messed up. Here are the receipts for the hotel on the 10th pic.twitter.com/hLNHnvJ6XS
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 22, 2020
In support of Danielle’s allegation, Djibrine took to Twitter on June 21, 2020, claiming she was “a victim of sexual assault by Justin Bieber too.” She accused Bieber of sexually assaulting her at the Langham Hotel in New York City in the early morning hours of May 5, 2015. These tweets have since been deleted.
Bieber said the assault accusations by Djibrine were impossible, as he alleges he was at a Met Gala celebrity after-party that night. The complaint also utilizes a photograph of the singer at a hot dog stand after he left the party as evidence.
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If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.
Are you or someone you know experiencing abuse? Visit the Department of Justice’s Victim Services Directory for a list of support services in your area.
Women, trans and non-binary people can find an additional list of resources here.
by Global News
