British woman issues public apology to Aussie singer Dean Lewis over 'false' rape claims made on social media

A British woman who alleged a well-known Australian musician was a rapist, which led to him being dropped from his record label, has apologised and said she made up the claims.

Evie Smith, a 19-year-old from Liverpool in the UK, was accused of leading a targeted campaign of defamation and harassment against Dean Lewis, from Sydney.

The 'Be Alright' singer's legal team told the The Saturday Telegraph the teenager had shared false claims about Lewis over messages and videos on TikTok.

Those claims included allegations he was a rapist, had pursued sex with underage girls, was physically violent with women and had made death threats.

In a TikTok on Saturday, Ms Smith said she had lied.

'Hi, I want to say something about the things I posted about Dean Lewis,' she told her 95,000 followers on TikTok.

'In October I posted things about Dean that weren't true and misled people.

'I also used my TikTok account to bring more attention to claims for others without knowing if they were true and what I did turned into a campaign against Dean.'

She said she had 'made serious claims without properly checking them' and conceded that she 'shouldn't have done that'. 

'What I did was wrong. I am really sorry to Dean for what I've done and the impact it has had on him, especially on his reputation.

'I regret how I handled everything and I wish him the best.'

Prior to the video, Lewis' lawyers had sent a concerns notice to Ms Smith.

A concerns notice is the first step in formal legal defamation proceedings which outlines the complainants case. 

A secondary legal letter was then sent advising her that her statements may have broken criminal laws in Bolivia, where she was staying with her boyfriend.

No criminal charges were laid. 

Ms Smith had previously refused to admit her allegations were false, making Saturday's video a remarkable turnaround.

Lewis welcomed the apology, noting the situation 'had a significant and damaging impact on my reputation, my career, and my personal life'.

'People make mistakes. What matters is taking responsibility and being accountable. Ms Smith has now taken steps to do that,' he said.

'Based on what I have learned through this process, I consider that she and others were drawn into and contributed to the spread of malicious lies that were not true.

'I intend to continue pursuing those responsible for originating and driving those claims.'

Lewis asked 'no one direct abuse or harassment of any kind towards Ms Smith'.

The are still ongoing legal matters with other women who shared allegations against Lewis.