Joanie Faircloth, the woman who accused Conor Oberst of rape, has issued a public apology to the singer-songwriter, admitting that the allegations were untrue.

“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 an issued statement. “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. 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.”



Update: Oberst has issued a statement in which he accepts Faircloth’s apology: “I have accepted Joanie Faircloth’s apology and retraction to clear my name. This has been extremely difficult and stressful for me personally and for those I love. I’m appreciative of the family, friends, fans, and business partners who supported me throughout this and look forward to happier times as we all move forward with our lives.”

Faircloth first accused Oberst of rape via an anonymous posting on the website XOJane.com back in December. In her posting, Faircloth alleged that she was introduced to Oberst backstage at a concert 10 years ago. Oberst vehemently denied the allegations and, in February, he filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against Faircloth.

Recently, it was revealed that the allegations had impacted sales of Oberst’s most recent album. It was also reported that he had been dropped by his record label, but that was later found to be untrue.