Moby apologizes for dating claims

Moby is backing away from his insistence that he once dated actress Natalie Portman in an apology the musician posted on Instagram Saturday.

“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,” Moby wrote on Instagram Saturday.

“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,” he continued.

“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,” he said.

Moby’s claims were rebutted by Portman herself after the release of Moby’s new memoir, “Then It Fell Apart.” Moby pushed back at her denial, even posting a shirtless photo of himself with his arm around Portman as proof, for several days before finally posting his apology.

In an interview, Portman characterized their brief friendship as “creepy.”

“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.”

Moby concluded his apology, “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.”

DPA