The incident was said to have happened after an interview at the festival (Picture: Getty)
Courtney Love has been accused of groping a reporter without his consent at Coachella.
The Hole rocker, 58, who shares model daughter Frances Bean, 30, with her late ex-husband Kurt Cobain, is accused of touching journalist Frank Elaridi around ‘six years ago.’
The reporter, who works mainly for ABC programs and digital platforms, said on his Quite Frankly podcast the incident took place at Coachella when he was covering the music festival for Nightline.
He added: ‘I think I was like 24 or something at the time – naïve. They send me to Coachella to go do an interview with her. I’m at her afterparty, interviewing her in a side room, and then she’s like, “Come hang out with us!”’
Elaridi added he agreed and the pair took a photo together, saying: ‘And the second [the] photo’s done, she grabs my crotch, like, really hard. Like, grabs it like that.
Elaridi said he was ‘caught off guard’ after the alleged incident (Picture: Getty)
‘I was caught off guard. There’s literally a photo ’cause somebody across the room snapped it [and] sent it to me.’
The image, which has been posted online, shows Love grabbing Elaridi’s crotch with her right hand while he looks shocked.
He added: ‘Her hand is very clearly – like, there’s a photo of Courtney Love with her hand squeezing my balls basically.’
The incident was said to have taken place six yeas ago (Picture: Wireimage)
But when asked by his podcast guest, 37-year-old musician Nahko Bear — who has been accused of sexual abuse but denies the allegations – asked if Elaridi wanted to ‘cancel’ Courtney, he replied the idea to ‘go after her’ would ‘never cross [his] mind.’
More: Trending
He added: ‘She’s a rock star in my head. Not to justify or say it’s OK, but in my head, that would never cross my mind to do that.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Love’s reps for comment.
Victim Support
Victim Support offers support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse. You can contact them on 0333 300 6389.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
The incident is claimed to have taken place at Coachella.