Bob Dylan’s lawyers have formally denied allegations he groomed a 12-year-old girl for weeks, fed her drugs and sexually abused her repeatedly in 1965.
Dismissing her ‘ludicrous’ claims, the legal team said the accuser, known as JC, has also claimed to have been abducted by aliens and flown their spaceship.
She filed the lawsuit in August, claiming the singer-songwriter, now 80, 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’.
Bob Dylan’s lawyers have formally denied allegations he groomed a 12-year-old girl for weeks, fed her drugs and sexually abused her repeatedly in 1965
She initially said the abuse took place over a six-week period between April and May in 1965 including at the Chelsea Hotel in New York, which was once home to famous artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper and Joni Mitchell.
But last week the lawsuit was amended to say it took place over ‘several months’.
The musician’s lawyers hit back at the ‘brazen shakedown’ calling her claims ‘false, malicious, reckless and defamatory’.
They also tried to undermine credibility, saying she is a psychic who claims she was abducted by aliens and can channel dead people.
The legal team said: ‘According to her own website, plaintiff is a psychic who specializes in ‘channeling’ the deceased loved ones of grieving families — for a fee.’
In the court documents, the lawyers note that JC, now 68, has said publicly she has piloted a spaceship after her abducted and channeled the dead spirit of escapologist Harry Houdini.
The accuser initially said the abuse took place over a six-week period between April and May in 1965 (pictured: Dylan in 1965)
The accuser claims she can also converse with living and dead animals and can read tea lives, coffee grinds and lipstick smudges, the filing reads.
Dylan’s lawyers said: ‘This case – based on plaintiff’s alleged interactions with Bob Dylan more than 56 years ago — is a brazen shakedown masquerading as a lawsuit.
‘It was filed in bad faith for the improper purpose of extracting a huge payout on the threat of negative publicity.
‘The allegation is false, malicious, reckless and defamatory. Mr. Dylan will not be extorted.
They added: ‘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.
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‘Mr Dylan may have seemed like an easy mark for the lawyers who filed and hoped to profit off of this fraudulent lawsuit.
‘They likely assumed he would not be up for the fight and would instead pay extortion to avoid the burden, publicity, and expense of defending himself.
‘They could not have been more wrong. Mr Dylan seeks and will achieve justice, vindication and full accountability.’
Some of the alleged abuse happened at the famed Chelsea Hotel, which was once home to musicians and artists including Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop and Joni Mitchell
JC’s lawyer Peter Gleason said in response: ‘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.’
Dylan’s lawyers have said the timeframe is a ‘chronological impossibility’.
Others have supported this, with music writer Clinton Heylin saying it was ‘not possible’ for Dylan to be in New York long enough to span the alleged abuse.
The Blowin’ in the Wind star was jetting between England, Los Angeles and Woodstock at the time, he says.
But JC’s legal team say Dylan’s itinerary is consistent with their claims.
The lawsuit claims assault, battery, false imprisonment and emotional distress.
It seeks compensatory, punitive and exemplary damages based on physical and emotional injuries from her time with the singer.
‘J.C. sustained physical and psychological injuries, including but not limited to, severe emotional and psychological distress, humiliation, fright, disassociation, anger, depression, anxiety, personal turmoil and loss of faith, a severe shock to her nervous system, physical pain and mental anguish, and emotional and psychological damage.’
The effects of the alleged abuse ‘are of a permanent and lasting natures and have incapacitated plaintiff from attending her regular activities,’ the suit states.
No hearing date has yet been set for the case.
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