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Magician David Copperfield has been accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior by 16 women, according to an investigation by the U.S. bureau of British newspaper The Guardian.
The allegations detail that Copperfield allegedly drugged three women before having sex with them, who claimed they were unable to consent due to their condition. Half of the allegations come from women who claim to have been under the age of 18 at the time of the encounters, some as young as 15, and span a period from the late 1980s to 2014.
Copperfield had faced allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior in the past. In 2018, the magician adamantly denied the allegations against him, writing on Twitter, "I have lived with years of news stories about me accused of fabricated heinous acts, and few tell the story of the accuser's arrest and my innocence."
In the face of the new allegations, Copperfield denied any wrongdoing when asked for comment by The Guardian ahead of the publication of its investigation on Wednesday.
His lawyers claimed that Copperfield had "never acted inappropriately with anyone, let alone anyone underage," calling the newspaper's claims that the magician touched women inappropriately "not only completely false, but also totally implausible."
David Copperfield's defense
"Everyone who knows David Copperfield will tell you that these recent allegations from a newspaper are the exact opposite of who David is. In fact, David has a history of risking his career to help protect women from powerful predators. Most of these historic allegations have been made before and all are as false now as they were then," he began by writing in a statement on his social media.
"David requested the evidence on which these false accusations claim to be based and it has not been provided. To the contrary, whenever U.S. law enforcement has investigated these matters, they have done so thoroughly and it has been found that there is simply no case to answer," he continued.
"The Guardian's characterization is not who David is, and it continues to support anyone who has experienced any kind of abuse or discrimination. The movement must succeed, but the false accusations must stop for it to flourish. David will consider the position with his legal team and will take whatever action is appropriate in the face of these false and defamatory allegations."