Scott Gries/Getty ImagesThe woman who accused Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst of sexually assaulting her last year in a story appearing on xoJane is now admitting that she made the entire story up.
Joanie Faircloth originally posted comments about the singer which prompted Oberst to file a libel lawsuit against her in October, claiming that her accusations were "absolutely, unequivocally false."
And it seems that now, Faircloth, is confessing that her past accusations were just that.
"The statements I made and repeated online and elsewhere over the past six months accusing Conor Oberst of raping me are 100 percent false," she wrote in a statement via 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."
Faircloth also asked for Oberst for forgiveness, saying, "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."
At the time of the lawsuit, Oberst's lawyers released the following statement: "The only connection between Oberst and Faircloth was one of artist and fan—a fan who has posted laudatory comments about Oberst elsewhere online, including describing attending his band's concert as the 'Best memory ever.'"
A spokesperson for the singer said that Oberst was currently on tour in Europe and not available for comment.