The richest illusionist in the world was reminded of his past harassment of girls, giving some drugs

The famous American magician David Copperfield has been accused by 16 women of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior, according to an investigation by the American Guardian newspaper.

More than half of the allegations came from women who said they were under 18 at the time of the incidents. Some stated that they were only 15 years old, although he may not have known their age.

The charges against him include allegations that he drugged three women before engaging in sexual acts with them that they believed they could not consent to.

The allegations against the 67-year-old illusionist, which he denies, date from the late 1980s to 2014.

The Guardian newspaper is examining the allegations in a series of stories using interviews with more than 100 people, as well as court and police records.

The women who made allegations against Copperfield met him during his work as one of the most successful entertainers in the world.

Some of them told the Guardian that it was only after the #MeToo movement took off that they were able to talk about their alleged experiences with Copperfield. Some agreed to give their names in Guardian articles. Those who wish to quote them on condition of anonymity are marked with * (asterisk).

When asked about the claims, Copperfield denied any wrongdoing.

In written responses, his lawyers told the Guardian he “has never behaved inappropriately with anyone, let alone a minor.” They said a “true” portrayal of Copperfield would describe his “kindness, shyness and respectful attitude toward men and women.”

They say Copperfield is a supporter of the #MeToo movement, which has encouraged women to come forward with their stories of alleged abuse.

They also said that “many false accusations” had previously been made against him.

Copperfield has been accused of inappropriate behavior in the past. One of the 16 women, Brittney Lewis, publicly alleged in 2018 that he drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1988 when she was a 17-year-old model. Copperfield denied these claims, which were published in The Wrapan online publication covering media and entertainment.

Another woman told the Guardian she had a similar experience, claiming that she and her friend were drugged and that both were unable to consent before he had sex with each of them.

“I… would never have told anyone unless I honestly believed I was being drugged at the time,” said Gillian*, who says she agreed to meet Copperfield for a drink in 1993 after one of his shows.

Copperfield’s lawyers denied Gillian’s allegations and said that there were no similar allegations or complaints against him at the venues where he performed at the time. The lawyers also said drugs “are not part of his world.”

In four other cases, women alleged that Copperfield groped them or forced them to touch him for sexual purposes while performing on stage. Three of them were teenagers at the time of the alleged incidents. Family members of one 15-year-old girl who were sitting in the audience claim that they witnessed him groping her breasts.

Copperfield’s lawyers said allegations that Copperfield touched women inappropriately are “not only completely false, but also completely implausible.”

Fallon Thornton, 38, told the Guardian that Copperfield squeezed her breasts after he called her on stage during a performance at the MGM Grand casino hotel in January 2014. Records show she reported the matter to MGM and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, but Thornton felt her report was not taken seriously. Las Vegas police told the Guardian they closed the case due to “insufficient evidence.”

Copperfield’s lawyers also claim that law enforcement at the time told Copperfield’s team that video of the performance Thornton attended did not show him touching the “chest area” of any of the participants. Despite requests, neither Copperfield’s lawyers, the Las Vegas police, nor MGM provided the Guardian with footage of the performance.

MGM, the entertainment and gambling conglomerate where Copperfield has performed regularly since 2000, declined to comment on the alleged 2014 incident or other allegations against Copperfield.

An investigation by The Guardian found common themes among the allegations: several women said Copperfield promised to help them with careers in modeling or entertainment and that he tried to maintain contact with them and their parents.

One of the women, Carla*, claimed that after meeting Copperfield at one of his shows in 1991, when she was 15, he began calling her late at night. She says she now feels “groomed.” According to her, he sent her gifts and tickets to his shows. After she turned 18, she said, they had consensual sex. According to her, it was her first time.

Copperfield’s lawyers did not dispute the fact that the magician knew the teenager, and said that they had a completely legal, consensual relationship that lasted four years. Lawyers said he “categorically denies any suggestion of grooming or any other misconduct.”

In addition, Copperfield came under scrutiny due to his connection with Jeffrey Epsteinaccused of child trafficking, who committed suicide in prison in 2019. […]

The inclusion of Copperfield’s name does not mean that he committed a crime. According to one affidavit, Copperfield asked one woman, later revealed to be one of Epstein’s victims, “if she knew that girls were paid to find other girls” for Epstein.

His lawyers told the Guardian that Copperfield had heard “rumours” about it, but he “did not know or believe that anything inappropriate was going on”. His lawyers also said he “saw no reason to contact law enforcement or raise the issue with other people” after the woman he approached did not express any concern. Lawyers say Epstein was not someone with whom Copperfield regularly communicated.

“Our client had no knowledge of Epstein’s horrific crimes,” his lawyers said. “Like the rest of the world, he learned about it from the press.”

In October 2023, the illusionist publicly announced that he was teaming up with the international charity Save the Children for an elaborate stunt planned for February 2024 that would make the moon “disappear.”

There was about cooperation announced on the Today TV show on NBC, and Save the Children issued a press release applauding their collaboration, saying that “Copperfield’s positive message and passion for helping children around the world perfectly complements the challenging work we do every day.”

But the illusion did not take place in February as planned. Save the Children, which removed the ad from its website, confirmed to the Guardian that its partnership with Copperfield ended on January 4, 2024. This comes a day after Copperfield was named in unsealed court documents linked to Epstein. Save the Children declined to comment on whether the release of the Epstein documents was a factor in its decision to end the partnership.

On February 29, Copperfield wrote on his Instagram page that he would still be making the moon disappear. “Some cool new developments take extra time.”

Copperfield’s lawyers said he takes “unfounded attacks” on his reputation very seriously and hopes his association with Save the Children will continue in the future.

The lawyers added that their client has never been charged with a crime.

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The private archipelago is located in the Exuma region, consisting of more than 350 islands. The area where the illusionist’s possessions are located is called Copperfield Bay in the Bahamas. The artist has been buying up local real estate since the early 2000s, when he took control of the largest and most developed island in the area, Musha Cay. Copperfield, according to him, chose this place largely by chance. He simply drew lines on the globe – from Easter Island to Britain’s Stonehenge and from the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico to the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt – and at the intersection he discovered Musha Cay.

The 61-hectare island cost the buyer $55 million. The deal began in 2006 and dragged on for four years due to litigation with the previous owner, Blockbuster Video investor John Melk. Gradually, 10 neighboring, smaller islands also became the property of Copperfield. As a result, the artist spent about $40 million more, and it took him five years to put his possessions in order.

There are now 30 employees serving all of the Copperfield Islands. Trained parrots clean the beaches, a drive-in cinema has opened on the shore, and the furniture in the main estate has been brought from all over the world (there is, for example, a Houdini billiard table). Copperfield and his family spend about 10 weeks a year in the Bahamas. In the absence of the owner, Musha Cay and other islands are rented by billionaires like Bill Gates And Sergei Brin. For each night spent in Copperfield Bay, members of the Forbes rating are willing to pay from $37,500 per night.

“I applied all my knowledge of magic to the island,” says Copperfield. His team from Las Vegas is currently organizing a spy role-playing game for guests on Musha Cay based on the James Bond novels.

The entire archipelago, spread over an area of ​​about 3 square meters. km, together with renovation costs cost the illusionist $95 million. For comparison, the largest deal on Exuma in recent years happened in 2009: Imam Aga Khan paid $100 million for Bella Island with an area of ​​about 1.4 square meters. km.

“The key islands are Musha and Radder Cut Cay,” says George Damianos, president of Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty. “According to my forecast, Rudder could be sold very quickly for $20-30 million. Musha – $50 million, and maybe $70 million.”

Copperfield’s New York penthouse is located in Manhattan, next to Central Park. The four-story apartments include more than 900 sq. m of living space and about 550 sq. m of roof garden and terraces. In 1997, the illusionist paid $7.4 million for this asset. Today, its value, based on transactions with similar real estate and expert estimates, has grown to $60 million.

At one time, this penthouse was built for himself by Stuart Mott, an eccentric billionaire, heir to the General Motors business empire. There are 18 rooms, a swimming pool and huge windows overlooking the park. There was also room in the apartment for two art collections of the illusionist. The first consists of approximately 300 restored slot machines, the second represents a set of mannequins that were used as models by famous artists (for example, Paul Gauguin). […]