Justin Bieber has won the first round of his defamation suit against two social media users who have accused him of sexual assault via Twitter.
The singer already claimed the pair's allegations were "factually impossible" and part of a scheme to seek attention and fame, revealing he had "indisputable documentary evidence" to prove their claims were nothing but "outrageous, fabricated lies."
Now Bieber's lawyers have been permitted to subpoena Twitter executives to learn the identities of the women behind the accusations.
The first, Danielle, claimed Bieber sexually assaulted her in a Four Seasons Hotel room in Austin, Texas in March 2014, while Kadi alleged the pop star sexually assaulted her at the Langham Hotel in New York City in early May 2015.
Bieber believes the social media accounts for Danielle and Kadi might be run by the same person and he is suing for more than US$20 million in damages.
"We just want to uncover who is behind these two accounts and it may be the same person," Bieber's lawyer, Evan Spiegel, told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Green, indicating he and his team cannot serve the women until they are identified.
People reported that before Green announced his ruling, he pronounced Bieber's last name incorrectly, and asked Spiegel if he should know Bieber.
When Spiegel replied that Bieber was "well-known to various demographics", Green quipped, "I gather demographics not 73 and over."
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