Bright Eyes singer/songwriter Conor Oberst filed a lawsuit last Thursday seeking $1 million in damages from the woman who, in the comments section on an xoJane article, accused him of raping her over a decade ago.
According to Oberst, the woman is a jilted fan who has even listed Bright Eyes as her favorite band on her Facebook page as recently as January 2013.
So, obviously they’ll go to court; simple, right?
Without question Oberst has a right to his day in court — but a domestic violence advocacy group is asking him to drop the suit, even if he’s innocent.
What?
According to Spin, Right to Speak Out contends that his lawsuit contributes to the culture of silence surrounding rape:
According to Right to Speak Out, the lawsuit will hurt victims. “It is offensive to imply that filing such a lawsuit is a respectable way to procure money regardless of what he declares he intends to do with it,” the group said in a statement. “Even if Ms. Faircloth was not truthful, vilifying discussion of sexual assault by filing such a lawsuit only adds to the problem of under-reporting that enables sexual assault to proliferate at alarming rates.” Only 21 percent of rapes are reported, according to the nonprofit, with only 7 percent of those ending in convictions.
So, Right To Speak Out finds it “offensive” that a man would sue to clear his name. To these morons the ‘right’ of false accusers and defamers to “speak out” trumps a man’s right to vindicate himself in a court of law — because proving that a woman violated the law equals “vilifying discussion of sexual assault.”
Justice for the falsely accused “only adds to the problem of under-reporting” crime. Conor Oberst should just roll over and accept that the damage to his good name is collateral damage.
This is what fanaticism looks like. Sue her ass off, Conor.
[…] Conor Oberst Asked to Drop Suit Against Rape Accuser Even If He’s Innocent! […]
No good cause is ever served by suppressing the truth. If the accusation is false, regardless of all other factors, it needs to be shown for what it is. In no way does this damage the credibility of real victims giving honest testimony, nor will such a suit discourage anyone otherwise willing to come forward and report a crime from doing so. It’s simply an attempt to silence someone whose particular truth is unpalatable to adherents of a certain illogical political philosophy who themselves gripe endlessly about being silenced when they try to tell their side of the story. Let… Read more »
As someone whom was falsely accused of rape myself I am obviously going to have some subjective bias in what I am going to say so consider this sentence the disclarimer. Right To Speak Out’s logic for asking Oberst to drop his lawsuit is completely flawed and actually contradicts their mission statement. My argument is as follows: 1. By saying Oberst is silencing victims of actual sexual misconduct (whether it be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree) they are permiting a rape culture of another sort. A revenge culture if you will. This is because they allow a culture where people… Read more »