Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon Denies Sexual Assault Allegation

Richard Bord / Getty Images

Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon Denies Sexual Assault Allegation

Richard Bord / Getty Images

Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon has denied an allegation that he sexually assaulted a fan in 1995. The accuser, Shereen Hariri, claims that the singer groped her at an LA record store she worked at while he was signing autographs. The BBC reports that Hariri made the allegation yesterday on Facebook in a post that has since been made private. It states that Le Bon allegedly grabbed her “butt cheek,” and proceeded to start “making his way down my butt to my genitals.”

Le Bon responded to the allegation via Duran Duran’s Facebook page. “The behavior that Ms Hariri has accused me of, would have been just as inappropriate and unacceptable to me then as it is today. But the allegation is simply untrue,” Le Bon writes. “I have always been one who can admit to my mistakes and apologize for my failings. But I cannot apologize for something I did not do.”

You can read the statement in full below.

I have read the statement which Ms. Hariri posted yesterday on Facebook about a record signing 23 years ago at Wherehouse in L.A.

The behavior that Ms Hariri has accused me of, would have been just as inappropriate and unacceptable to me then as it is today. But the allegation is simply untrue.

When Ms. Hariri first contacted me about her claim months ago, I proposed meeting with her in person so I could set the record straight. Instead, she has decided to pursue this publicly.

I have always been one who can admit to my mistakes and apologize for my failings. But I cannot apologize for something I did not do.

The Detroit Free Press spoke to Hariri’s lawyer, Sarah Prescott, who claims that her client was supposed to meet with Le Bon months ago. The meeting was allegedly arranged by lawyers and never happened because Le Bon dropped out. Duran Duran’s manager, Katy Krassner, defended Le Bon in the comments on the band’s Facebook post, claiming to have been at the event in 1995 and stating that the alleged incident did not happen.

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