Magician David Copperfield Accused Of Sexual Misconduct By 16 Women
David Copperfield is being accused of sexual misconduct by 16 women, half of whom claim they were underage when he allegedly groomed or groped them.
The Guardian published an expansive report Wednesday after speaking with more than 100 people, including former employees who claimed Copperfield tasked them with approaching young women at his shows. The alleged incidents occurred over four decades, according to the report, from the 1980s to 2014.
Three of Copperfield’s accusers also claimed the magician drugged them before their nonconsensual sexual encounters.
HuffPost has reached out to representatives for the magician for comment.
One woman identified as “Carla” claimed Copperfield gave her his phone number and a teddy bear for Valentine’s Day when she was 15. She says he sent her a note, which was given to The Guardian, when she was 16 that read: “In 2 years I will be back.”
Carla said she was only 17 when Copperfield invited her into his limousine and pushed her head toward his crotch. She told The Guardian that she was “not forced” to perform oral sex, but felt “awkward” — as it was her first time.
Carla said they had penetrative sex when she was 18 and believes she was groomed. Copperfield’s lawyers denied that the magician groomed Carla and said their relationship was consensual.
“I was a young schoolgirl infatuated with a man who was famous and I think he used that to benefit him,” she told The Guardian.
Another woman identified as “Gillian” claimed Copperfield invited her and a friend backstage for a drink from the crowd of one of his shows in Las Vegas in the 1990s. Gillian said she was then handed a glass of sambuca that made her feel “weird, physically weird.”
Gillian added she felt “fuzzy” before blacking out. She said she remembers waking up while Copperfield was having sex with her.
“I am 56 years old now,” she told the outlet. “Never in my life have I had a time where I don’t consciously remember [a period of time] … I would never just say this to somebody if I didn’t truly, honest to God believe that I was drugged at that time.”
The exposé noted that Copperfield also allegedly groped four women during live performances and spoke on the phone with five teenage girls and their families.
Copperfield’s lawyers denied both the alleged drugging and said it was “untenable” that he would have groped an audience member during a performance.
“Everyone that knows David Copperfield will tell you that these recent allegations from one newspaper are the exact opposite of who David is,” a representative for the magician told ET in response to the report. “In fact, David has a record of risking his career to help protect women from powerful predators.”
The representative further decried the accusations as “false and scurrilous” and claimed Copperfield is requesting evidence in the matter while “considering the position with his legal team.”
Copperfield has been accused of sexual misconduct before.
The illusionist was accused in 2007 of luring an ex-beauty pageant model to his private island in the Bahamas and sexually assaulting her, a case the FBI investigated. He was also accused in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a former teen model.
Copperfield remains the highest-paid performer in his field with a reported value of $875 million.
An ex-assistant noted Wednesday that Copperfield regularly met with young women.
“There were always women coming and going,” the former employee, who identified only as Valerie, told The Guardian. “I never saw anybody come in that was unwilling to come but I felt the power dynamic just seemed very wrong. Like these were very young women.”
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
