Duran Duran Singer Simon Le Bon Denies Sexual Misconduct Accusation

“The allegation is simply untrue,” singer says in Facebook post

Simon Le Bon
Getty Images

Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon has denied a woman’s sexual misconduct accusation against him on Thursday, that she says took place at a record store signing in Los Angeles in 1995.

Shereen Hariri, a 47-year-old therapist from Los Angeles, accused Le Bon of sexual assault on Wednesday in The Detroit Free Press. Hariri said she was helping keep a line of fans moving at The Wherehouse, a record store where she worked at the time when the assault took place — while photographers snapped pictures of Le Bon and the band.

“I felt Simon Le Bon’s left hand brashly and ridiculously move to my right butt cheek,” Hariri told The Free Press. “He started massaging it, then kneading it more firmly, then making his way down my butt to my genitals, then rubbing my labia.”

Hariri added that she was “shocked and completely frozen” by the incident. She said she’s not looking for money, but hopes Le Bon “comes clean publicly.”

Le Bon, in a post shared on Duran Duran’s official Facebook page on Thursday, said that “the allegation is simply untrue.”

“When Ms. Hariri first contacted me about her claim months ago, I proposed meeting with her in person so I could set the record straight. Instead, she has decided to pursue this publicly,” added Le Bon. “I have always been one who can admit to my mistakes and apologize for my failings. But I cannot apologize for something I did not do.”

Here is the full response the popular ’80s band posted to its official Facebook page on Wednesday:

And here is what Le Bon’s friend and social media strategist Katy Krassner commented on the same post in support of her “mentor”:

I have worked with Simon Le Bon for 23 years. Throughout this time he has been an outstanding friend and mentor.

I was also at the in-store event in 1995 that Shereen Hariri described in her Facebook post and I can tell you that what he is being accused of DID NOT happen. Simon was never out of my sight that entire day, as each of the people on the Duran Duran team were “assigned” to a band member to help with the record signing. Apart from anything else, as any fan knows, these kinds of events are a whirlwind of quick handshakes and photo calls which literally last a matter of seconds. The idea that he sat there, right next to his band mates, in front of a bunch of cameras, reaching behind him to sexually assault someone that day is simply ludicrous.

I hope everyone who read Shereen’s post considers that there might be another (very different) side to the story and that there is another person involved here – a kind gentleman that I know very, very well. I have worked in the music industry my whole career and have come across some very unsavory people, and Simon isn’t one of them. I am a mother of two children, including one daughter, and I take accusations like this not only seriously but to heart. Shame on anyone who decided to believe one person’s erroneous account without knowing all the facts.

Comments