Famed illusionist David Copperfield has spoken for the first time about the "horrendous" stigma he suffered when he was falsely accused of rape.
Former beauty queen Lacey Carroll claimed the magician sexually assaulted her during a vacation on his private island in the Bahamas in 2007.
Copperfield was cleared of any wrongdoing in 2010, but in a candid new TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, he admits the two-year investigation was hell.
He says, "To be falsely accused of something that horrendous is a devastating thing for yourself, your friends, your family, really bad.
"When the truth comes out - you know she was arrested, not me - finally things you know come to light."
Winfrey told him, "People remember the charge. They don't remember the exoneration," to which Copperfield replied, "Not only exoneration, but I was the victim."