“He escaped from Alcatraz and he confounded the Bermuda Triangle: The world’s greatest magician, David Copperfield.”
Those words, from George Hamilton, introduced the audience at the 1988 “Look of the Year” modeling competition to Copperfield, a celebrity judge. And Brittney Lewis says the contest introduced Copperfield to her. She was 17.
After 30 years, Lewis has come forward to accuse Copperfield — in a story published Wednesday — of inviting her to one of his performances several weeks after the contest, then drugging and sexually assaulting her. Copperfield has urged people not to “rush to judgment,” saying he has been falsely accused before.
TheWrap has obtained footage of the “Look of the Year” competition, held in September 1988 in Atami, Japan, that establishes that both Copperfield and Lewis attended. It also provides a brief look at the lives of the celebrated magician and the teenage model.
The video shows Copperfield wearing an oversized black blazer with shoulder pads and a white shirt. In one sequence, Lewis is one of several models who dance down the street in glittery gowns. A young vendor drops his oranges as he sees Lewis walk by. She laughs it off and flips her hair.
The footage does not capture any interaction between Copperfield and Lewis.
Copperfield’s lawyer, publicist, and manager have not responded to detailed questions about Lewis. But on Wednesday, Copperfield issued a statement on Twitter expressing support for the #MeToo movement while saying that he has been falsely accused in the past, and is about to “weather another storm.”
“Always listen, and consider everything carefully,” he wrote. “But please, for everyone’s sake, don’t rush to judgment.”
Copperfield also said that he has been the victim of a false accusation before.
In 2007, former beauty queen Lacey Carroll accused Copperfield of sexually assaulting her after whisking her to his $50 million private island in the Bahamas.
The FBI investigated Copperfield for two years and even raided Copperfield’s Las Vegas warehouse. The case was eventually closed with no official explanation, and Carroll dropped a civil lawsuit against Copperfield.
Carroll was later charged with prostitution and making false sexual assault accusations against another man, in Washington state. In that case, she pleaded guilty to a charge of obstructing a police officer in 2010 and was ordered to pay a $953 fine, complete 30 hours of community service and attend an alcohol-awareness class.