Phoebe Bridgers is being sued by a music producer who claims she falsely accused him of being abusive.
Chris Nelson filed a defamation lawsuit against the 27-year-old singer on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking at least $3.8 million in damages.
The two did not work together but Nelson claims he and then-girlfriend Emily Bannon had “consensual sexual encounters” with Bridgers dating back to 2018. He says after he and Bannon split, Bridgers continued to have a relationship with her.
Nelson alleges that Bridgers accused him of theft and fraud in a 2020 Instagram post and directed her followers to Bannon’s Instagram account, where he was accused of racially motivated violence, hate crimes, fraud, robbery and hacking women’s email accounts.
According to the filing, “Bridgers maliciously and intentionally posted the false and defamatory statements about [Nelson] as part of a vendetta to destroy [Nelson's] reputation that was enflamed by Bridgers and Bannon's sexual relationship.”
Reps for Bridgers have not commented on the lawsuit. None of the claims have been tested in court.