Back in June, two women anonymously came forward on Twitter and accused Justin Bieber of sexual assault in 2014. After the reports gained traction, Bieber swiftly responded with an explanation of why both accounts were “factually impossible,” saying that “rumors are rumors but sexual abuse is something I don’t take lightly.”
Bieber previously filed a $10 million lawsuit against both accusers and claimed he would be working “closely” with authorities and Twitter to investigate the claims. Now, it seems the singer has had a legal breakthrough in the case.
According to NBC LA, a judge granted Bieber permission to subpoena Twitter on Thursday in order to gain information about the people behind the anonymous accounts. During the court hearing, Bieber’s lawyer, Evan Spiegel, told Judge Terry Green that they “just want to uncover who is behind these two accounts” and that “it may be the same person.”
Since the reports were anonymous, Spiegel told Judge Green during the hearing that the subpoena placed on Twitter will help identify the accusers and allow Bieber to serve them a summons.
As per NBC LA’s report, Judge Green originally mispronounced Bieber’s name before announcing his ruling and asked Speigel if he should know who the plaintiff is. Speigel responded that Bieber is a “recording artist well-known to certain demographics” and Judge Green replied: “I gather demographics not 73 and over.”
