Moby fired back at Natalie Portman’s claim that the two never dated in the late 1990s.
“In my memoir Then It Fell Apart I respectfully and honestly describe the brief, innocent, and consensual romantic involvement I had with Natalie Portman in 1999,” the musician wrote in a Thursday Instagram post. “But she’s denying that we ever dated, even though in the past she’s publicly discussed our involvement.”
“It hurts to be lied about, especially as I’ve always respected her, and I thought we were friends,” he added, alongside three photos of the two together over the years.
Moby recalled in his memoir, published earlier this month, that he and Portman briefly dated when she was a 20-year-old Harvard student and he was a 33-year-old musician on tour in 1999. Portman denied that the two ever dated in a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, telling the magazine she remembered Moby as a “much older man being creepy.” She also clarified that the two met when she was 18 years old, not 20.
The 53-year-old musician wrote in his Thursday Instagram post that he’s received “anonymous threats of violence” from Portman’s fans and it’s affecting his business and mental health.
“So what should I do? What do you do when people believe lies and accusations and not actual photographs and evidence?” he wrote. “I want to take the high road, but I honestly don’t know what to do. It’s one thing to be lied about, and entirely another when someone’s lies result in physical threats from complete strangers.”
Moby initially responded to Portman’s denial in a Wednesday Instagram post.
“I like Natalie, and I respect her intelligence and activism,” he wrote. “But, to be honest, I can’t figure out why she would actively misrepresent the truth about our (albeit brief) involvement.”