Moby is creepily claiming that he dated Natalie Portman, and she’s calling him out for it
Over the past two years, the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements have made huge strides in the ways we talk about sexual misconduct. But unfortunately, inappropriate behavior is still something that far too many women deal with in their everyday lives. In the most recent unsettling example, musician and producer Moby claimed that he “dated” Natalie Portman, but Portman says that, actually, his behavior was just “creepy.”
According to Harper’s BAZAAR, Moby claims in his new memoir, Then It Fell Apart, that he met Portman in 1999 at a concert when she was 20 and he was 33. He writes that he “tried to be her boyfriend” until she told him she had met someone else. However, Portman told the magazine that this isn’t actually what happened.
“I was surprised to hear that he characterized 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,” she said.
Harper’s BAZAAR notes that Portman was born in 1981, meaning she turned 18 in 1999, when Moby claims to have met her. He was 33 at the time.
"He said I was 20; I definitely wasn’t," Portman said. "I was a teenager. I had just turned 18. There was no fact-checking from him or his publisher—it almost feels deliberate."
Portman recalled meeting Moby at a concert and him telling her “let’s be friends.” She said that they only saw each other a few times before she figured out “this was an older man who was interested in me in a way that felt inappropriate.”
Hey ladies, how many times have you faked having a boyfriend, or said you'd "met someone else" to stop a guy trying it on or harassing you?
My money is on an 18-year-old Natalie Portman doing this to a 33-year-old Moby. https://t.co/Xm1oQJj8fu pic.twitter.com/hl0XOENBH0
— Hanna Ines Flint (@HannaFlint) May 22, 2019
After Portman disavowed Moby’s account of things, he doubled down, sharing a picture of the two of them to Instagram. In his caption, he wrote, “after briefly dating in 1999, we remained friends for years.”
"I like Natalie, and I respect her intelligence and activism," he continued. "But, to be honest, I can’t figure out why she would actively misrepresent the truth about our (albeit brief) involvement."
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxwubzJhaq2
Many Twitter users sided with Portman, arguing that, yes, his behavior toward her was gross.
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1131235818297790466
here’s the thing about Natalie Portman & Moby. Even if she had “dated” him, she was 18, he was 34. I ”dated” 23 year olds when I was 14. I look back now & realize that was NOT dating & was older men being predatory. She isnt faking memory loss. She just finally realized the truth pic.twitter.com/czWmnjwAfY
— Lane Moore👉NYC 9/7, PDX 10/15 (@hellolanemoore) May 22, 2019
Natalie Portman's account of what really happened when Moby claimed they had a brief relationship when she was 20 (she was 18) in his book is simply icky. https://t.co/nLxwlGOjBl pic.twitter.com/WZRZsuVhIE
— Caitlin McBride (@mcbride_caitlin) May 22, 2019
“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.” It's gross how Moby thinks he can frame an 18 year old girl (NOT 20) as the one with all the power.
— Philip J. Ellis ❤️💎 Preorder LOVE & OTHER SCAMS (@Philip_Ellis) May 22, 2019
And others pointed out that sexualizing young actresses only contributes to this creepiness.
The inappropriate sexualization of young Natalie Portman and the Olsen Twins and Emma Watson does not happen in a vacuum. The media should look at how they cover Millie Bobbie Brown now and realize they are complicit in making these young women into targets.
— DrewMcWeeny (@DrewMcWeeny) May 22, 2019
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The bottom line is that no matter what happened between Portman and Moby, a 33-year-old attempting to “date” an 18-year-old should be a huge red flag. We’re with you, Natalie.
