Back in August of last year, a sex abuse suit against Bob Dylan was filed in New York by a woman identified only as J.C. The suit alleges that the victim was only 12 at the time, and that Dylan gave her drugs and alcohol along with abuse. Now, the case has reached the courts, and according to reporting from Rolling Stone, Dylan’s lawyers are dismissing it as a “a brazen shakedown.”
“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,” Dylan’s lawyers wrote in response to the case, filing their statement yesterday in Manhattan.
It seems like Dylan’s lawyers aren’t just defending their client, but defending the truth as well. In her claim. J.C. stated that the abuse took place at the Chelsea Hotel between April and May of 1965 — but Dylan scholars (of which there are many) determined that he wasn’t in New York then. After she updated her claim to the “early spring” of that year, scholars searched for a single week, let alone several, that Dylan was in New York during that time frame, and could only find possibly a day or two.
Dylan’s lawyers further lambasted the accusers work as a psychic: “According to her own website, plaintiff is a psychic who specializes in ‘channeling’ the deceased loved ones of grieving families — for a fee,” Dylan’s statement continued, also noting that the plaintiff claims “she speaks to cats, dogs and other animals — alive and dead — as well as insects and plants,” and that she also claims she’s been abducted by aliens. His lawyers think the psychic is targeting Dylan because he seemed like an “easy mark.”
“Mr. Dylan may have seemed like an easy mark for the lawyers who filed and hoped to profit off of this fraudulent lawsuit,” the filing continues. “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.”
In better news for Dylan, a massive display of his artwork is currently open in Miami.