According to some accounts, the magician, who is now 67 years old, drugged and physically abused them. The claims, which involve former model Brittney Lewis, date back to the late 1980s and were originally made public by TheWrap in 2018, were covered by The Guardian.
Copperfield denied any misconduct when contacted by the British newspaper. According to his attorneys, he is a “champion of the #MeToo movement” and has “never acted inappropriately with anyone, let alone anyone underage.” The attorneys said that there had been prior “false claims” made against the magician.
Lewis is one of the 16 accusers; she said that at the age of 17, Copperfield had drugged and abused her. In 1993, after agreeing to meet with Copperfield for a post-show drink, another lady related a similar story to The Guardian, claiming that Copperfield drugged and attacked her and a companion. At the time of the accusations, Copperfield was not performing, and he told The Guardian that “drugs were not part of his world.”
Women accused Copperfield of touching them suggestively or groping them in a few more instances when he was on stage. One, who was fifteen at the time, had family witnesses who claim he grabbed her breasts; the Las Vegas Police looked into the matter, but it was later closed for lack of proof.
Other women who spoke to The Guardian said that Copperfield had promised to assist them in advancing their careers. One woman claimed that she had seen the magician perform live in 1991 and that he had since called often, giving her tickets and presents, and eventually starting a consensual relationship with her after she became eighteen. Although his attorneys were aware of the connection, they said that the illusionist “strongly denies any suggestion of grooming or any other impropriety.”
An spokesman for Copperfield provided TheWrap with the following statement when contacted for comment:
“These recent accusations from one publication are completely untrue to David Copperfield, as anybody who knows him would attest. David has really shown a history of jeopardizing his profession to defend women against abusive partners. The majority of these historical charges have been leveled before, and they are all just as untrue now as they were back then. David has asked for and has not received the “evidence” that these fraudulent accusations purport to be based upon. But every time U.S. law enforcement has looked into these kinds of cases, it has done a thorough investigation and determined that there is just no case to answer. David keeps supporting anybody who has been the victim of abuse or prejudice; the Guardian’s portrayal of him is not who he is. False charges have to end in order for the campaign to be successful. Along with his legal counsel, David will evaluate the situation and take any necessary action in response to these baseless and libelous accusations.”