Duran Duran front man Simon Le Bon has slammed a woman’s claim that he groped her more than two decades ago.
“I have always been one who can admit to my mistakes and apologize for my failings,” the 59-year-old singer said in a statement on Facebook. “But I cannot apologize for something I did not do.”
Shereen Hariri claimed Le Bon touched her buttocks and rubbed her genitals during an autograph session at a record store in Los Angeles in 1995.
“I was afraid to move, afraid of the consequences, and enraged that he knew he could do such a thing in front of cameras,” she said in a statement on Facebook.
“It was so smug, so self-assured, so unbelievably brazen.”
Hariri, a 47-year-old therapist, is not able to file a lawsuit due to the statute of limitations and she has not sought money from Le Bon. “If he wants to make amends to me, I am open to it,” she said.
The "Wild Boys" singer has denied the allegations.
“The behaviour that Ms Hariri has accused me of, would have been just as inappropriate and unacceptable to me then as it is today. But the allegation is simply untrue,” he wrote.
“When Ms Hariri first contacted me about her claim months ago, I proposed meeting with her in person so I could set the record straight. Instead, she has decided to pursue this publicly.”
Katy Krassner, who claims to have been with Duran Duran at the in-store appearance on the day in question, also dismissed Hariri’s claims.
“Simon was never out of my sight that entire day,” she wrote as a comment under Le Bon's Facebook message. "Apart from anything else, as any fan knows, these kinds of events are a whirlwind of quick handshakes and photo calls which literally last a matter of seconds.
“The idea that he sat there, right next to his bandmates, in front of a bunch of cameras, reaching behind him to sexually assault someone that day is simply ludicrous.”
Le Bon, who has been married to wife Yasmin since 1985, is the father of three adult daughters and last month became a grandfather.