Who are Gwen Hunter and Denise Shipes? George Foreman countersues over 'false' sexual abuse claims
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: George Foreman reportedly filed a countersuit against Gwen Hunter for allegedly filing false sexual allegation claims against him. Foreman's court documents claimed that Hunter's allegations were “entirely fabricated” and she had “zero corroborating evidence in the form of documents, photographs, letters, or witnesses to support Gwen’s false claims against Foreman.”
The document further stated, “Hoping that the passage of time will excuse her complete lack of evidence," as per Fox Bangor. The former boxer also added that Hunter had demanded more than $12M from him to not go public with what he called "her bogus claims." In the document, he also claimed that he suffered from "anxiety, sleeplessness, worry, shock, and humiliation."
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Who are Gwen Hunter and Denise Shipes?
In November 2022, Hunter and Denise Shipes, two women came up with sexual abuse allegations against Foreman, a former boxer. Both women are above 60 years. They first met Foreman as children because their fathers were his associates, as per The Guardian. According to the document, Shipes is a Los Angeles resident and accused Foreman of grooming her when she was eight. He allegedly had sex with her when she was 15 in a San Francisco hotel room. Shipes' father worked as Foreman's trainer in the 1970s. "He laid on top of me and had sexual intercourse with me," Shipes said, as per ABC.
Meanwhile, Hunter, who is a Nevada resident, claimed that she first met Foreman when she was nine. She accused him of sexually abusing and raping her when she was 15 and 16 years old at an apartment in Beverly Hills. She said Foreman told her her father would lose his job as a boxing adviser if she did not comply. At a news conference held by her attorney, Samuel Dordulian, she reportedly said, "Foreman regularly abused me until I was about 16 years old. He asked me to remove my clothes and told me if I didn't, my father would be fired," reported ABC. Her father worked for Foreman as a manager in the '70s.
Calling these allegations baseless, Foreman had claimed, "Over the past six months, 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. I am, and always will be, guided by my faith and trust in God. I will work with my lawyers to fully and truthfully expose my accusers' scheme and defend myself in court. I don't pick fights, but I don't run away from them either."
Dordulian earlier claimed the former boxer had initiated a mediation between them. "They invited us to meet with them, to negotiate with them," he said, adding, "This whole claim of extortion is completely bogus. It's an attempt for him to take the narrative away from these two brave women."
Meanwhile, Foreman's attorney, Shawn Holley, added that she had encouraged the boxer to enter mediation, but she stated women were demanding $25M. Holley said, "It was a tremendous waste of time because he truly was not willing to pay them any amount of money, none whatsoever. And I will tell you that he was angry with me for even suggesting it."