Moby-Natalie Portman row: 'Inconsiderate' DJ apologises
25 May 2019
Musician Moby has apologised to the actress Natalie Portman after a row over his depiction of their alleged romantic involvement 20 years ago. The DJ and producer wrote on Instagram that many criticisms of his memoir, Then It Fell Apart, were "very valid". Moby, 53, said he should have acted "more responsibly and respectfully" towards Portman when they first met. Portman this week denied dating the musician in her teens, calling his behaviour "inappropriate". "I was a bald binge drinker and Natalie Portman was a beautiful movie star. But here she was in my dressing room, flirting with me," Moby wrote of an incident in 2001, when he claimed  Portman asked him out after a show. He said they had a brief romantic involvement, and went on a number of dates. But the actress, 37, said the description was inaccurate, calling Moby a "creep" who overstepped his bounds. Speaking to Harper's Bazaar, she said: "I was surprised to hear that he characterised the very short time that I knew him as dating, because my recollection is a much older man being creepy with me when I just had graduated high school. "He said I was 20; I definitely wasn't. I was a teenager. I had just turned 18. That he used this story to sell his book was very disturbing to me." Portman, who has become one of the leading figures in the Time's Up movement, said the book contained several "factual errors and inventions". However, after reading the interview, the musician refused to let the disagreement lie, posting a series of photos online showing himself and Portman together, under the heading "Sincerely what should I do when people believe accusations and not evidence?". Instead of ending the debate, the posts only exacerbated the backlash. In a further Instagram post on Saturday, the musician said that after some time had passed he had come to realise that many criticisms levelled at him were valid. He said it was "truly inconsiderate" of him not to have informed Portman and others about their inclusion in his memoir beforehand. "Also I accept that given the dynamic of our almost 14-year age difference I absolutely should've acted more responsibly and respectfully when Natalie and I first met almost 20 years ago," Moby added. The memoir was not the first time Moby has spoken about dating Portman. In 2008, he told Spin magazine they shared a "very brief affair" that made him the target of "nerd wrath". "You can't date Luke Skywalker's mom and not have them hate your guts," he said, referring to Portman's role in the Star Wars prequels.
"I was a bald binge drinker and Natalie Portman was a beautiful movie star. But here she was in my dressing room, flirting with me," Moby wrote of an incident in 2001, when he claimed  Portman asked him out after a show. He said they had a brief romantic involvement, and went on a number of dates. But the actress, 37, said the description was inaccurate, calling Moby a "creep" who overstepped his bounds. Speaking to Harper's Bazaar, she said: "I was surprised to hear that he characterised the very short time that I knew him as dating, because my recollection is a much older man being creepy with me when I just had graduated high school. "He said I was 20; I definitely wasn't. I was a teenager. I had just turned 18. That he used this story to sell his book was very disturbing to me." Portman, who has become one of the leading figures in the Time's Up movement, said the book contained several "factual errors and inventions". However, after reading the interview, the musician refused to let the disagreement lie, posting a series of photos online showing himself and Portman together, under the heading "Sincerely what should I do when people believe accusations and not evidence?". Instead of ending the debate, the posts only exacerbated the backlash.
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What was the row all about?
In a further Instagram post on Saturday, the musician said that after some time had passed he had come to realise that many criticisms levelled at him were valid. He said it was "truly inconsiderate" of him not to have informed Portman and others about their inclusion in his memoir beforehand. "Also I accept that given the dynamic of our almost 14-year age difference I absolutely should've acted more responsibly and respectfully when Natalie and I first met almost 20 years ago," Moby added. The memoir was not the first time Moby has spoken about dating Portman. In 2008, he told Spin magazine they shared a "very brief affair" that made him the target of "nerd wrath". "You can't date Luke Skywalker's mom and not have them hate your guts," he said, referring to Portman's role in the Star Wars prequels.
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What is Moby saying now?