Dean Lewis Issues Statement After Dutch Court Rejects Bid to Block Online Allegations
Dean Lewis has spoken publicly after a Dutch court dismissed his attempt to block a woman from making allegations about him online.
Dean Lewis has spoken publicly after a Dutch court dismissed his attempt to block a woman from making allegations about him online.
Per The Daily Telegraph, Sanne van Ooijen had made allegations online that the Sydney artist assaulted her and claimed that he had raped another woman. Lewis looked to ban van Ooijen from making and repeating the allegations, as well as claims of sexual misconduct, and wanted her to delete her social media posts and issue a public apology.
However, the Amsterdam District Court rejected Lewis' application, finding that because van Ooijen did not name Lewis in the posts, it would not be clear that the allegations referred to him. Lewis has reportedly been ordered to pay van Ooijen's legal costs of €1707 ($2862).
"This ruling is based on a critical error: Ms. van Ooijen did not identify Dean. That is wrong. She did," a spokesperson for Lewis told Rolling Stone AU/NZ in a statement.
Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
"The Court did not find her allegations true, nor did it determine the underlying facts. Ms van Ooijen has also said she would cease making statements about Dean. She has not done so.
"Ms. van Ooijen has tried to destroy Mr. Lewis's life with a calculated campaign of lies and misinformation. The evidence against Ms. van Ooijen is overwhelming. The truth will come out."
The ruling came after another woman who had previously accused Lewis of misconduct issued a public apology via TikTok.
Evie Smith was accused by Lewis' lawyers of sending messages and posting videos where she described the musician as a rapist and paedophile. In a video published on Friday, Smith said: “I made serious claims without properly checking them and I shouldn’t have done that. What I did was wrong. I am really sorry to Dean for what I’ve done and the impact it has had on him, especially on his reputation. I regret how I handled everything and I wish him the best.”
“The situation involving Ms Smith had a significant and damaging impact on my reputation, my career, and my personal life,” Lewis said in a statement.
“People make mistakes. What matters is taking responsibility and being accountable. Ms Smith has now taken steps to do that.
“Based on what I have learned through this process, I consider that she and others were drawn into and contributed to the spread of malicious lies that were not true.
“I intend to continue pursuing those responsible for originating and driving those claims.
“One of the things I have taken from this experience is the extent to which social media can reward outrage and amplify harm. I would ask that no one direct abuse or harassment of any kind towards Ms Smith.”
Last October, Lewis issued a public apology after leaked private messages and videos fuelled claims he’d behaved inappropriately with fans online.
In January, Rolling Stone AU/NZ revealed that he parted ways with Universal Music Group after a decade-long partnership.
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Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
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