Former heavyweight boxing champion, George Foreman, was sued last summer by two women who claimed he sexually abused them 45 years ago when they were underage.
Now, the former gold medal Olympian is countersuing, alleging one of the women tried to extort $12 million from him before she filed the lawsuit.
On Monday, Foreman filed his paperwork against his accuser, Gwen H, TMZ Sports reports.
The media outlet obtained documents stating that Foreman had acknowledged that he can’t sue his accuser for the allegations she leveled at him in her lawsuit. Yet, he stated that since she spoke at a news conference about the allegations three months after she filed, she stepped outside that protection.
During the news conference, she went into detail about the allegations against Foreman, saying, “He asked me to remove my clothes, and if I didn’t then my father would be fired, so I complied.”
In the legal paperwork submitted to the court, the retired boxer contended that Gwen H’s sexual abuse accusations, which she repeated during the press conference, were “entirely fabricated.” Foreman went on to say the alleged victim had “zero corroborating evidence in the form of documents, photographs, letters, or witnesses to support Gwen’s false claims against Foreman.”
He also asserted that she is “hoping that the passage of time will excuse her complete lack of evidence.”
In the lawsuit, Foreman also said that she had allegedly requested more than $12 million from him or she would go public with what he labeled “her bogus claims.”
As a result of the claims, Foreman said he suffered “anxiety, sleeplessness, worry, shock and humiliation.” Now he is suing her for unspecified damages.
TMZ reported in July that two women, whose fathers were apparently friends with and had a working relationship with Foreman several decades ago, accused him of grooming and then eventually sexually abusing them when they were underage. They alleged this took place in the 1970s. Foreman has denied the accusation.
“Over the past six months,” Foreman said, “two women have been trying to extort millions of dollars each from me and my family. They are falsely claiming that I sexually abused them over 45 years ago in the 1970s.”
“I adamantly and categorically deny these allegations. The pride I take in my reputation means as much to me as my sports accomplishments, and I will not be intimidated by baseless threats and lies.”
