Moby apologises to Natalie Portman over claiming that they dated

Following the release of Moby's memoir, Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman denied claims that the two had been in a relationship.

In the memoir, Moby had alleged that that he met Portman when she was 20 and that they dated briefly.

However, Portman then told Harper's Bazaar UK magazine that "there are many factual errors and inventions" in his writing.

She said: "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. He said I was 20; I definitely wasn't. I was a teenager. I had just turned 18."

Initially, Moby doubled down on his claims that they'd dated, saying that he was "confused" at her denial over a relationship with him.

He also posted a now-deleted photograph of the pair on Instagram, saying that he couldn't "figure out why she would actively misrepresent the truth about our...involvement."

Finally, following the backlash from the story, Moby has issued a lengthy apology on his Instagram account. In it, he addresses the criticism he received from the public due to him being 33 years old and Natalie Portman having just left high school at 18.

He claims that he should have "acted more responsibly and respectfully when Natalie and I first met almost 20 years ago", given their "almost 14 year age difference". (There is actually an almost 16 year age difference between the two).

The story, and subsequent apology, has perhaps overshadowed the book itself. While it's had mixed reviews, Then It Fell Apart has been met with some praise, with many considering it an honest account of celebrity excess.

You can read Moby's apology in full here:

"As some time has passed I've realized that many of the criticisms leveled at me regarding my inclusion of Natalie in Then It Fell Apart are very valid.
"I also fully recognize that it was truly inconsiderate of me to not let her know about her inclusion in the book beforehand, and equally inconsiderate for me to not fully respect her reaction.
"I have a lot of admiration for Natalie, for her intelligence, creativity, and animal rights activism, and I hate that I might have caused her and her family distress.
"I tried to treat everyone I included in Then It Fell Apart with dignity and respect, but nonetheless it was truly inconsiderate for me to not let them know before the book was released.
"So for that I apologize, to Natalie, as well as the other people I wrote about in Then It Fell Apart without telling them beforehand.
Also I accept that given the dynamic of our almost 14 year age difference I absolutely should've acted more responsibly and respectfully when Natalie and I first met almost 20 years ago.

Moby"

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As some time has passed I've realized that many of the criticisms leveled at me regarding my inclusion of Natalie in Then It Fell Apart are very valid. I also fully recognize that it was truly inconsiderate of me to not let her know about her inclusion in the book beforehand, and equally inconsiderate for me to not fully respect her reaction. I have a lot of admiration for Natalie, for her intelligence, creativity, and animal rights activism, and I hate that I might have caused her and her family distress. I tried to treat everyone I included in Then It Fell Apart with dignity and respect, but nonetheless it was truly inconsiderate for me to not let them know before the book was released. So for that I apologize, to Natalie, as well as the other people I wrote about in Then It Fell Apart without telling them beforehand. Also I accept that given the dynamic of our almost 14 year age difference I absolutely should've acted more responsibly and respectfully when Natalie and I first met almost 20 years ago. Moby

A post shared by moby xⓋx (@moby) on May 25, 2019 at 6:44am PDT