By: Jared Evan
Late last year, legendary folk-rock singer/songwriter Bob Dylan sold his tremendous music catalogue to Universal Music Publishing Group in a deal said to be larger than $300 million, eight months later, a woman is claiming that 56 years ago Dylan sexually abused her at the age of twelve.
The now-68-year-old woman, identified in the lawsuit as J.C., alleges that “over a six-week period” the singer “befriended and established an emotional connection” with her and ultimately sexually abused her multiple times between April and May of 1965 when she was 12.
In a statement to USA Today, a spokesperson for Dylan said Monday that “the 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended.” CNN has reached out to two publicists who represent Dylan for comment, St Louis Dispatch reported.
Attorneys for J.C. claim that Dylan befriended J.C. “to lower her inhibitions with the object of sexually abusing her, which he did, coupled with the provision of drugs, alcohol and threats of physical violence, leaving her emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit further claims that Dylan used his status as a famous musician by “grooming J.C. to gain her trust and to obtain control over her” and alleges that he sexually abused her “at certain times” in his apartment at the Hotel Chelsea in New York City, St Louis Dispatch expounded.
Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career spanning nearly 60 years. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s, when songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963) and “The Times They Are a-Changin'” (1964) became anthems for the civil rights and anti-war movements, Wikipedia summarized.
Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1941. Dylan’s parents, Anna Kirghiz and Zigman Zimmerman, emigrated from Odessa in the Russian Empire (now Ukraine) to the United States, following the pogroms against Jews of 1905, according to his biography.
Bob Dylan has sold his entire songwriting catalog — more than 600 songs — to Universal Music Publishing Group in a deal announced in December of 2020, reported by NPR.
The agreement was first reported by The New York Times, which said it is worth more than $300 million. The deal with Dylan may be the highest price ever paid for a musician or group’s songwriting rights. (Universal has not disclosed the purchase price.)
When reached by CNN, an attorney for Dylan’s accuser, J.C., declined to say how she came to meet Dylan and would not elaborate on the nature of sexual abuse claims, St. Louis Dispatch reported.
“The complaint speaks for itself. We’ll prove all of the allegations in a court of law,” said attorney Daniel Isaacs. “The complaint was filed after much research and thorough vetting and there’s no doubt that she was with him at the Hotel Chelsea.”
J.C., who now resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, said in the lawsuit that she has suffered and continues to suffer “serious and severe mental distress, anguish, humiliation and embarrassment, as well as economic losses” and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Dylan, according to St. Louis Dispatch
