David Copperfield, as a famous illusionist, is accustomed to a smoke and mirrors world where things are not always as they seem. Copperfield is pointing out on Twitter and Instagram, appearances can mislead, even in the #MeToo Movement. The famous sleight of hand artist who charmed millions with his magical presentations warned tonight on Twitter, not to “rush to judgment” as he faces “another storm” related to #MeToo.
The Magician David Copperfield is facing down a fresh new #MeToo accusation head-on with a pre-emptive Tweet. Though David supports the #MeToo Movement, as David states in his tweet, he knows all too well the other side of the #MeToo situation.
#MeToo, according to David Copperfield’s tweet, is a two-edged sword, cutting both ways and challenging both the guilty and those not guilty.
“The #MeToo movement is crucial and long overdue. We all want people who feel they’ve been victims of sexual misconduct to be empowered, and as a rule, we should listen, so more will feel comfortable coming forward. It’s important. But imagine what it’s like, believing in the movement, and having also been falsely accused publicly in the past.”
Brittney Lewis, as part of the #MeToo Movement, has recently alleged in an exclusive #MeToo interview with The Wrap, that David Copperfield drugged and molested her in 1988 when she was only 17-years-old. Brittney Lewis told The Wrap she caught Copperfield, who once made the Statue of Liberty disappear, pouring something extra into her drink.
As David Copperfield’s guest for a California magic show, Brittney Lewis alleged to The Wrap she then drank a few sips even though she said she saw him adding to her drink. Then in her #MeToo interview with The Wrap, Lewis alleges everything went hazy, and she “blacked out” but there were moments of semi-consciousness, which she described to The Wrap.
“I remember my clothes being taken off. He was kissing my face and then I remember him starting to go down on my body with his face, and then, as soon as he started going down, I just completely blacked out.”
Brittney Lewis is not the first to accuse David Copperfield of sexual assault. In 2007, long before the #MeToo Movement, Lacey Carroll alleged David Copperfield sexually assaulted her after taking her to his private island in the Bahamas according to The Wrap.
Lacey Carroll did not file criminal or civil charges against David Copperfield according to People, but David’s reputation was battered in numerous news reports. The case never went to trial but was weighed out in the media, just like many of the #MeToo cases today.
David Copperfield was vindicated, at least in part, in 2010 when Lacey Carroll was caught making false accusations about another man in Washington State. Carroll pled guilty to obstructing a police officer, fined and required to perform community service.
While these #MeToo style accusations against David Copperfield made sensational news stories in 2007, as Copperfield points out on Twitter and Instagram, his 2010 vindication got little coverage. David Copperfield is quoted on Deadline.
“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.”
David Copperfield’s tweet below is a request for balance in viewing these #MeToo allegations.
— David Copperfield (@D_Copperfield) January 24, 2018
David Copperfield is making the point that sometimes reports of sexual abuse are false and unfair to those accused. At the same time, David Copperfield acknowledges that the #MeToo movement gives a voice to many who have been sexually assaulted.
Sadly Brittney Lewis’ case against David Copperfield will never go to trial. Lewis does not wish to press charges and even if she did, the statute of limitations has expired long ago, since all this allegedly happened in 1988.
David Copperfield cannot be proven guilty or innocent in a court of law, but these #MeToo allegations will remain, and the public will choose what to believe.