Warning: This article may be triggering for some readers. Please read at your own discretion.
Justin Bieber has denied a recent allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman at a hotel in Austin, Texas, in March 2014, saying it was “factually impossible” and sharing screenshots of hotel receipts and email exchanges.
The 26-year-old pop singer was accused of sexually assaulting a woman who identified herself as Danielle in a Twitter post shared on Saturday, according to the Guardian. That account has since been deleted.
In the since-deleted tweet, the accuser claimed she had met Bieber after one of his surprise performances at a SXSW show in Austin before he invited her and her friends to the Four Seasons hotel on the evening of March 9, 2014.
Danielle, who withheld her surname, claims that later on, Bieber brought her to a separate room and assaulted her. She said she was 21 at the time and the Sorry singer was 20.
On Sunday, Bieber took to social media with a series of tweets denying the allegation.
“I don’t normally address things as I have dealt with random accusations my entire career, but after talking with my wife and team, I have decided to speak up on an issue tonight,” he wrote on Sunday evening.
“Rumours are rumours, but sexual abuse is something I don’t take lightly. I wanted to speak out right away. But out of respect to so many victims who deal with these issues daily, I wanted to make sure I gathered the facts before I made any statement.
“I want to be clear. There is no truth to this story. In fact, as I will soon show, I was never present at that location,” the Intentions hit-maker added, before claiming he spent the evening with then-girlfriend Selena Gomez.
Though Bieber confirmed that he “did surprise a crowd in Austin at SXSW” on March 9, 2014 — as detailed in Danielle’s tweet — he said he did not stay at the Four Seasons hotel that night but instead at an Airbnb with Gomez.
The London, Ont.-born musician proceeded to share screenshots of a number of photos, articles, emails and hotel/Airbnb receipts.
“I stayed with Selena and our friends at an Airbnb on the 9th, and on the 10th (I) stayed at a Westin (hotel), because our hotel reservation at La Quinta and not the Four Seasons was messed up,” he wrote in a tweet, which included screenshots of some of the emails and a hotel receipt.
Though an account tweeted that they had seen Bieber at the Four Seasons on March 10, Bieber claimed that he “never stayed at the Four Seasons” on either March 9 — the night of the alleged assault — or 10. That account appears to have since been deactivated.
In addition, Bieber claimed that his team had “confirmed with the Four Seasons regional manager” that he was never a guest or even on site on March 9 or 10, 2014.
“I welcome all press to inquire with them if needed or wanted,” he said.
After sharing a picture someone captured of Bieber and Gomez together in the streets of Austin and an article from Us Weekly that reported that the couple attended the SXSW gig together, the Baby singer said the photos he showed of himself with Gomez “should make it clear that (they) were together that night.”
“(We) went from the venue to our Airbnb and never went to the Four Seasons. This is our Airbnb receipt where we crashed with our friends,” he said in a tweet that included a screengrab of an email exchange regarding the Airbnb rental where the pop star claimed he stayed with Gomez.
Regarding his whereabouts on March 10, 2014, Bieber reiterated that after Gomez “left for work,” he “stayed at the Westin” with two friends. He also shared a screenshot of a hotel receipt in the tweet.
“We booked it for a couple days to stay for the Def Jam show,” he wrote. “But I bailed on the 11th to head back home.”
“I won’t be using Mike Lowery anymore as an alias,” the Canadian star added in another post, referring to the screenshot of a hotel receipt from the Westin, which lists a “Mike Lowery” as the guest, rather than Bieber.
“Every claim of sexual abuse should be taken very seriously and this is why my response was needed,” Bieber wrote in his final tweet.
“However, this story is factually impossible, and that is why I will be working with Twitter and authorities to take legal action.”
In support of Danielle’s allegation, another woman named Kadi took to Twitter — several hours after Danielle’s post and many before Bieber’s initial response — claiming she is “a victim of sexual assault by Justin Bieber too.”
Kadi, whose last name was also not disclosed, accused Bieber of sexually assaulting her at the Langham Hotel in New York City in the early morning hours of May 5, 2015.
She claimed that Bieber followed her to a washroom, locked the door and began kissing and caressing her before penetrating her without any consent.
“I asked him to stop and continued to say that I cannot have sex with anyone prior to marriage,” she wrote.
Kadi later said that she “pushed and kicked” Bieber “between the legs” before running out into the living room.
Furthermore, Kadi wrote that she told her sister about the incident but was told to keep quiet about it out of fear that it would “ruin” her family’s “honour” and that she might not get married.
“I remained silent until last year, in 2017, when I saw the Me Too movement,” Kadi wrote in the lengthy statement. “But after I tweeted about it, the Beliebers sent hate towards me, so I deleted it.”
Bieber has not publicly addressed Kadi’s allegation of sexual assault as of this writing.
Global News has reached out to one of the musician’s representatives seeking further comment regarding the two allegations.
Gomez has not publicly addressed the first allegation against Bieber, his whereabouts on March 9 and 10, 2014 or whether she was with him at the time the alleged assault took place.
Additionally, Global News has reached out to a representative of the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin.
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.
Are you or someone you know experiencing abuse? Visit the Department of Justice’s Victim Services Directory for a list of support services in your area.
Women, trans and non-binary people can find an additional list of resources here.