The teenage Twitter user that accused 5 Seconds of Summer guitarist Michael Clifford of sexual assault has now retracted their claims, stating that they had mistaken the musician for someone else entirely.
The allegations first appeared on Twitter on Monday, with a Twitter user by the name of @sophiecth5 sharing a story of what happened to them during a 5 Seconds of Summer tour in 2013, when the band played North America in support of One Direction.
Referring to their alleged abuser by the initials “MC”, Clifford took to Twitter himself to deny the allegations, not only claiming they were “BEYOND untrue”, but sharing a video showing what life was like for the band at the time, and how his alleged actions would have been “logistically impossible”.
The news even made its way to the band’s former manager, Adam Wilkinson, who released a statement on Facebook noting there was “simply no possibility of this accusation to have occurred”.
holy shit. i am heartbroken to read these things that are being said – they are just BEYOND untrue. i was never allowed in the crowd i only ever watched at front of house – and i would've never EVER done that. i wouldf NEVER do anything like that. i'm so fucking upset
— michael clifford (@Michael5SOS) June 15, 2020
this is what life was like in 2013 – please understand it wouldve been logistically impossible for me to get through a crowd at a show i just played at! im not trying to be defensive i promise this is just so completely falsehttps://t.co/7BfTBjiZLK
— michael clifford (@Michael5SOS) June 15, 2020
https://twitter.com/sophiectth5/status/1272656761665785856
Now, as Variety reports, the Twitter user behind these allegations has now retracted their claims, stating that they had mistaken Clifford for a different, now-deceased, individual.
In a series of tweets shared yesterday, @sophiecth5 issued an apology to Clifford and the band for any damage they may have caused, and sharing the details of the incident that occurred back in 2013.
“Today, I found out that I’ve been wrong for almost seven years,” they explained. “Today I found out that my offender is dead. My offender IS NOT MICHAEL CLIFFORD. HE NEVER TOUCHED ME, HE NEVER SAID THOSE THINGS TO ME. He’s innocent.
“I know there’s literally nothing I can do to change what I said yesterday and I wish, with my whole heart, there was a way to erase everything. All I can do is say that I’m completely sorry, surprised and heartbroken. I have to start a path of healing from zero, agin.
“All I wanna say is I’m sorry, Michael. I’m completely sorry for being wrong about you and the damage I may caused. I don’t know you and I know you probably hate me but everyone please try to understand my situation.
“Thank you to everyone who stood with me and helped me find the truth. I can’t give more details of my case for obvious reasons but let me say it again: MICHAEL CLIFFORD NEVER, NEVER TOUCHED ME.”
As it stands, neither Clifford or the other members of 5 Seconds of Summer have shared any official statement regarding the retraction of the allegations.
