Natalie Portman calls Moby ‘creepy’ and denies claim they dated 20 years ago
Hollywood actor said she had met Moby backstage but described his behaviour as ‘inappropriate’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Natalie Portman has denied a claim by Moby that they dated and described his behaviour 20 years ago as “inappropriate”.
Moby made the claim in his new book, When it Fell Apart – the follow-up to his 2016 memoir Porcelain – in which he alleges to have dated the Hollywood actor, 37, after she “flirted” with him in his dressing room at one of his shows.
In the book, Moby writes: “I was a bald binge drinker and Natalie Portman was a beautiful movie star. But here she was in my dressing room, flirting with me. I was 33 and she was 20 but this was her world.”
He then claimed that he “tried to be Natalie’s boyfriend” for a few weeks but it “hadn’t worked out”.
“I thought that I was going to have to tell her that my panic was too egregious for me to be in a real relationship, but one night on the phone she informed me that she’d met somebody else. I was relieved that I’d never have to tell her how damaged I was.”
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, Portman acknowledged meeting Moby backstage after going to one of his concerts as a fan, but denied ever being romantically involved with him. She also said she was still a teenager when they met, rather than 20 as Moby claimed in the book.
“I was surprised to hear that he characterised the very short time that I knew him as dating because my recollection is a much older man being creepy with me when I just had graduated high school,” Portman said.
“He said I was 20; I definitely wasn’t. I was a teenager. I had just turned 18. There was no fact checking from him or his publisher – it almost feels deliberate."
She added that she found it “disturbing” that he would “use this story to sell his book”.
“I was a fan and went to one of his shows when I had just graduated,” she said. “When we met after the show, he said, ‘let’s be friends.’ He was on tour and I was working, shooting a film, so we only hung out a handful of times before I realised that this was an older man who was interested in me in a way that felt inappropriate.”
In When it Fell Apart, Moby also claims to have dated a pre-fame Lana Del Rey in 2006, when she would have been 20 and he was 40.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Moby and Lana Del Rey for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments