Justin Bieber Drops Defamation Suit Over Sexual Assault Allegations
Bieber filed the lawsuit in 2020 against two women who accused him of assaulting them on separate occasions
Justin Bieber in September 2021. Agostini/Invision/AP Photo
Justin Bieber has requested the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit he filed against two women who accused him of sexual assault.
According to court records, Bieber’s lawyers submitted the voluntary dismissal in Los Angeles court last Friday, March 18. Bieber originally filed the lawsuit in 2020 against Khadidja Djibrine and a woman identified only as Danielle; the pair had both accused Bieber of sexual assault on Twitter, allegations the pop star denied in his original suit as “outlandish false fabrications.”
No reason for the dismissal was given. Last month, it seemed like the case was headed to trial in May as lawyers for Bieber and Djibrine failed to reach a settlement (Danielle was never officially located). Attorneys for both Bieber and Djibrine did not immediately return requests for comment.
Both Bieber’s lawsuit and the allegations against him came in June 2020. In since-deleted tweets, Danielle alleged that Bieber sexually assaulted her at a hotel in Austin in March 2014 after a South by Southwest performance. But Bieber’s lawyer’s countered that he hadn’t stayed at that hotel, and that he spent the night at a rental property with then-girlfriend Selena Gomez (Bieber even shared the receipt for the stay on Twitter.)
Djibrine shared her allegation the same day as Danielle. She claimed Bieber assaulted her at a hotel in New York City one year later in March 2015. Again, Bieber’s lawyers argued that he’d never stayed at that hotel and offered up an alibi in the form of photos of the singer at the Met Gala and an after-party during the time of the alleged attack.
Along with filing the defamation suit, Bieber responded to Danielle’s allegations specifically on Twitter, writing at the time, “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.”
From Rolling Stone US.
