Australian singer-songwriter Dean Lewis says secretly recorded conversations he had with a woman were maliciously edited to make him sound like a sexual predator.
Sydney-born Lewis has hit back at what he describes as a sustained online campaign involving false allegations of criminal conduct against women and underage girls.
Lewis alleges the claims against him snowballed after a deceptive TikTok post went viral and the campaign has caused substantial damage to his international reputation.
The 38-year-old Waves hitmaker has freely admitted to being 'flirty with adult women of all different ages, in-person, online and over text' but insists he has done nothing illegal.
'Occasionally, that flirting leads to consensual intimate encounters that I thought were private,' he posted on Instagram late last year when the claims of inappropriate behaviour first surfaced.
A source close to Lewis told the Daily Mail 'selectively edited material and unverified allegations' made against the award-winning artist had been 'weaponised at scale'.
'Dean has been upfront publicly that he hasn't always behaved perfectly in aspects of his personal life,' the source said. 'But he draws a very firm line in the sand at criminal allegations of non-consensual or underage conduct.'
Lewis has engaged lawyers in Australia, the UK, the US and The Netherlands who have sent concerns notices to three women in a coordinated response to the claims.
Australian singer-songwriter Dean Lewis (above) says secretly recorded conversations he had with a woman were maliciously edited to make him sound like a sexual predator
One of those to receive a legal letter was 19-year-old British woman Evie Smith who until October last year was one of Lewis's most active and influential global fans.
Ms Smith, from Merseyside, had the largest TikTok audience among Lewis's fanbase, with more than 90,000 followers.
On October 26, she published on her TikTok account @evierose_222 audio of what Lewis alleges was selectively edited and spliced parts of two private conversations between him and a woman.
The video was presented as one conversation, overlaid with text stating 'this is how your favorite artist speaks to teenagers btw' and viewed about 12 million times before its removal in January.
Ms Smith's post began with Lewis saying something unintelligible then, 'that white dress. What the f***'.
Woman: 'Oh, thank you.'
Lewis: 'Oh, baby. I want it. Oh, I want it. Yeah, I know. Um, but did you have a good night?'
Woman: 'This trip was because I was... '
Lewis alleges an online campaign triggered by a deceptive TikTok posted by British woman Evie Smith (above) has caused significant damage to his international reputation
A source close to Lewis (above) told the Daily Mail 'selectively edited material and unverified allegations' made against the award-winning artist had been 'weaponised at scale'.
Lewis: 'Yeah, but I love looking at you.'
Woman: 'Yeah, but I was, I was very wasted this trip, Dean. It's not pretty.'
Lewis: 'Aw, really? Awww.'
Woman: 'Yeah.'
A video recording of the first part of the conversation obtained by the Daily Mail reveals the woman saying 'Soon, hopefully soon', straight after Lewis says 'Oh baby, I want it. Oh, I want it.'
Whereas the shorter version posted on TikTok ends with the woman saying, 'Yeah', that conversation actually continues with Lewis asking if she has been 'having fun and partying and stuff'.
Woman: 'Yeah, pretty much. Because it's like, our friends just finished summer and everything. So we just spent a lot of it partying and people were leaving so we were going out every weekend, pretty much. Not even every weekend, nearly every day.'
Lewis: 'Wow. Well, take it easy. Don't go too hard on yourself, all right?'
Ms Smith has been contacted for comment. The 19-year-old is understood to be in Bolivia with her 31-year-old boyfriend. Both are pictured in the South American country
Woman: 'Oh, no. I'm dong partying now. Like, my job. I'm sky diving tomorrow. And I don't think I'm partying again until one of my friends comes back. So, yeah.'
Lewis: 'All right, well, I miss ya and I'm going to get up, but I just wanted to call, call ya back, and just say, 'hello'.'
Woman: 'All right, miss you too, Dean.'
Lewis: 'All right, have a good day.'
Woman: 'Bye.'
The concerns notice sent to Ms Smith states her TikTok version of the conversation defames Lewis by portraying him as a sexual predator.
It further alleges the shortened recording wrongly suggests Lewis engages in sexually predatory conduct toward underage girls and has unlawful sexual communications with minors.
The letter specifically states that not including the woman's statement 'soon, hopefully soon' altered the meaning and context of the exchange.
Lewis (above) has freely admitted to being 'flirty with adult women of all different ages, in-person, online and over text' but insists he has done nothing illegal
'The deliberate truncation of exculpatory material in order to create a more inflammatory narrative is powerful evidence of malice and would independently support an award of aggravated damages,' the letter states.
Ms Smith, who is understood to be in Bolivia with her 31-year-old boyfriend, has been contacted for comment.
Lewis alleges the publication of false claims against him led to the end of his recording contract with Universal Music Australia.
He had also experienced significant emotional and psychological distress, as well as disruption to professional relationships and future commercial negotiations.
Lewis has offered to resolve his complaint against Ms Smith without resorting to further legal action.
He has asked her to remove all relevant material from platforms under her control and not republish them, to provide a written retraction and publish an apology.
Lewis, who has won three ARIAs and seven APRA Awards, has also asked Ms Smith to hand over any money she made from publications about him so he can donate the funds to charity.
Following the publication of the TikTok video several women claimed Lewis had made them uncomfortable with his advances.
Lewis, who followed the huge success of Waves in 2016 with his 2019 hit Be Alright, stressed he had never wanted to make any woman uncomfortable. He is pictured with Kyle Sandilands
Four days after the audio was aired Lewis responded to the allegations on social media.
'I want to share some thoughts on the recent posts about me on social media. I understand why people are angry and disappointed after learning embarrassing details of intimate private conversations,' he said on Instagram.
'About relationships I've had with consenting adults over the past decade, I want to emphasise none of this is illegal.
'The individuals leading the campaign against me have repeatedly acknowledged this, and I'm hurt by any suggestion that I've done things that have crossed into illegality.'
Lewis, who followed the huge success of Waves in 2016 with his 2019 hit Be Alright, stressed he had never wanted to make any woman uncomfortable.
'From the bottom of my heart, I want to sincerely apologise to those I've hurt,' he continued.
'I also need to apologise to my family and fans who I've gravely disappointed.'
Lewis had also taken steps to ensure any unwanted behaviour was not repeated.
'I am enrolling myself in intense therapy to make better choices and dramatically shift my approach to dating and relationships,' he said.
'In time I hope to re-earn the trust of those I've hurt.'
The following month Lewis advised ARIA he was withdrawing his nomination for Song of the Year for his With You.
He also moved himself from the TikTok Awards, having been nominated for Music Artist of the Year.
In January, Universal Music Group announced it had parted ways with Lewis.
'We can confirm that Dean Lewis is no longer signed to Universal Music Australia or any Universal Music Group label,' a spokesperson said.
