David Copperfield faces sexual misconduct claims
David Copperfield, the world's highest-paid magician, has denied newly-published allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour.
An investigation by The Guardian includes accounts from 16 women, relating to alleged incidents dating from the late 1980s to 2014. More than half of the accusers say they were under 18 at the time of the incidents, and three claim Copperfield drugged them before having sex with them. Others allege the magician groped them during live performances.
One woman said she met Copperfield in 1991 when she was 15 and kept in contact with him until the age of 18, when she says they had consensual sex. She told The Guardian she believes she was groomed. Copperfield's lawyers "acknowledged the relationship" between the pair "but denied any grooming took place", said the BBC.
The investigation, which included interviewing more than 100 people as well as examining court documents, "highlighted common themes among the allegations", including claims by several of the women that Copperfield promised them "careers in modelling or the entertainment industry".
A representative for Copperfield told the BBC the allegations, which date from the late 1980s to 2014, were "false and scurrilous" and "the exact opposite of who David is".
In 2018, Copperfield denied historical allegations of sexual misconduct. "I've lived with years of news reports about me being accused of fabricated, heinous acts, with few telling the story of the accuser getting arrested and my innocence," he wrote on X (then Twitter). His lawyers added their client had never been charged with a crime.
"Separately, Copperfield has faced scrutiny" over his association with Jeffrey Epstein, The Guardian said. In January, unsealed court documents included details of an alleged conversation between the illusionist and one of Epstein's victims about rumours of sex trafficking surrounding the disgraced financier.
The documents did not implicate Copperfield in any crime. In a statement to The Guardian, Copperfield's lawyers said: “Our client did not know about Epstein’s horrific crimes. Like the rest of the world, he learned about it from the press.”
