'I absolutely should've acted more responsibly and respectfully': Moby publicly apologizes to Natalie Portman days after the actress said they never had a relationship and called the musician a 'creepy old man'
- Moby publicly apologized to Natalie Portman Saturday, admitting he was wrong
- The embarrassing climb-down comes after the singer boasted of his relationship with the then-18-year-old in his memoir Then It All Fell Apart
- He said that while she may regret it, they did date for a time after meeting in 1999 - although Moby first claimed it was when it was 'when she was 20'
- In his apology, posted on Instagram Saturday, he said he accepted he was wrong for including their so-called relationship in the book without giving her warning
- He added that given the 14-year age gap between the pair he should have 'acted more responsibly and respectfully' when they first met in 1999
Moby has publicly apologized to Natalie Portman, days after the actress contested the nature of their past relationship and characterized him as a 'creepy old man.'
The embarrassing climb-down comes after the singer boasted of his relationship with the then 18-year-old in his memoir Then It All Fell Apart, before doubling down on his recollection when Portman disputed his version of events and labeled them 'disturbing.'
In his apology, posted on Instagram on Saturday, he said he accepted he was wrong for including their so-called relationship in the book without giving her forewarning, and that given the 14-year age gap between the pair, admitted he should have 'acted more responsibly and respectfully' when they first met in Austin, Texas in 1999.
He wrote: '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.
The embarrassing climb-down comes after the singer boasted of his relationship with the then '20-year-old' in his memoir Then It All Fell Apart, before doubling down on his recollection when Portman disputed his version of events labeling it 'disturbing'
Moby shared this image of himself with Natalie Portman on Instagram on Wednesday to dispute her claim that they were only ever friends when she was a 'teenager' and he was a DJ in his 30s when they met sometime around 2001
'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.'
The Porcelain singer added: '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, now 53, is promoting his autobiography. Portman, now 37, said they were only friends until his intentions became obvious
His apology comes days after he made it clear he believed they were dating, despite the age difference.
He said at the time: 'I recently read a gossip piece wherein Natalie Portman said that we'd never dated. This confused me, as we did, in fact, date.
'And after briefly dating in 1999 we remained friends for years. I like Natalie, and I respect her intelligence and activism.
'But, to be honest, I can't figure out why she would actively misrepresent the truth about our (albeit brief) involvement.
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'Ps I completely respect Natalie's possible regret in dating me (to be fair, I would probably regret dating me, too), but it doesn't alter the actual facts of our brief romantic history.'
Earlier in the week, Portman told Harper's Bazaar: '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.
'He said I was 20. I definitely wasn't. I was a teenager. I had just turned 18.'
The mother-of-two also criticized the Moby's publisher for not checking the facts of the story, saying she thought it was a 'deliberate' attempt to sell books and called it 'disturbing'.
In his book, Moby said he was relieved when she ended their 'relationship'.
Claims: The electronic musician wrote in his autobiography that he went out with the actress for 'a few weeks' in 1999 when she was 18. He previously said it was in 2001. They are shown that year
He said they met for the first time at a show he performed in Austin in 1999.
He then describes seeing her again at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards when she approached him, writing: 'I was thirty-three and she was twenty but this was her world.'
The singer has also said that Lana Del Rey (pictured recently) rejected him in 2006
The awards were on September 9, just three months after Natalie's 18th birthday.
He then claims that when she was studying at Harvard, he visited her and they spent one night 'kissing under centuries-old oak trees.'
'At midnight, she brought me back to her dorm room and we lay down next to each other on her small bed.
'After she fell asleep I carefully extracted myself from her arm and took a taxi back to the hotel,' he said.
Moby also described in his book how he had 'high hopes' for a night of 'vodka and sex' with Lana Del Ray in 2006 when she was 20 and he was 50.
He claimed they kissed after a date but that she declined sex because she had heard he was promiscuous.
Rey's representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Moby shot to stardom as in the 1990s with his techno album Play.
He has since documented how he blew his millions on drugs and alcohol and has spoken openly about his sexually deviant ways.
