Joanie Faircloth publicly apologized Monday for falsely accusing Bright Eyes singer Conor Oberst of rape.
“The statements I made and repeated online and elsewhere over the past six months accusing Conor Oberst of raping me are 100% false,” Faircloth said in a statement reported by BuzzFeed. “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.”
She accused Oberst of raping her in Durham, North Carolina in the comments section of a story published in 2013. When her comments went viral in January 2014. A representative of Oberst’s called the accusations “absolutely, unequivocally false,” and in February, Oberst sued Faircloth for libel.
“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,” her statement continued. “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.”
It’s unclear how the libel suit will proceed. Oberst has not commented publicly on the apology.