Bob Dylan’s legal team has formally responded to allegations made by an anonymous woman that he sexually assaulted her when she was 12 years old, calling her lawsuit a “brazen shakedown.” As multiple outlets have reported, his lawyers have also sought to discredit the woman by bringing attention to her work as a psychic.
The plaintiff is a now-68-year-old woman identified in court documents as J.C. She initially claimed that in April and May of 1965, Dylan tried to “lower her inhibitions with the object of sexually abusing her, which he did, coupled with the provision of drugs, alcohol and threats of physical violence, leaving her emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day.”
However, Dylan was on tour during that period, and J.C.’s timeline of events didn’t match public records of his movements. Last week, the lawsuit was amended to claim that the abuse took place over “several months” in the spring.
Related Video
Dylan’s legal team responded to the amendment with a filing calling the suit “a brazen shakedown… false, malicious, reckless and defamatory”. It continued, “Mr. Dylan will not be extorted. Mr. Dylan will vigorously defend himself against these lawyer-driven lies and seek redress against all those responsible, including by seeking monetary sanctions against persons responsible for manufacturing and bringing this abusive lawsuit.”
Without identifying the woman, the lawyers highlighted her personal website, where she claimed to be a psychic who can channel the dead, speak with living and deceased animals, and read signs in everything from tea leaves and coffee grounds to smudged lipstick. J.C. also once stated she had been “abducted by aliens and piloted their spaceship.”
In response, J.C.’s lawyer Peter Gleason said, “Neither my client or her counsel are going to be bullied. More than half of Americans believe in psychic phenomena. If you’re going to attack somebody for their beliefs, you’re encroaching upon very dangerous territory. This is what this country is based on, freedom of beliefs. It shouldn’t divert our attention from the allegations. This case is about the facts.”
No date has been set for a hearing.
[flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=”Submit to Flexi” name=”my_form” ajax=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”post_title” class=”fl-input” title=”Title” value=”” required=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”category” title=”Select category”][flexi-form-tag type=”tag” title=”Insert tag”][flexi-form-tag type=”article” class=”fl-textarea” title=”Description” ][flexi-form-tag type=”file” title=”Select file” required=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”submit” name=”submit” value=”Submit Now”] [/flexi-form]
Tagged: Alternative Music, Classic Rock, music, music blog, NEWS, sexual assault