Justin Bieber denies sexual assault allegation

Bethany Minelle, Sky News

Justin Bieber has denied allegations of sexual abuse, saying "there is no truth" to a claim he assaulted a woman six years ago.

The Canadian singer says he will be taking legal action after a woman, identified as Danielle, accused him of assaulting her in a room at a Four Seasons hotel in Austin, Texas.

She said she was 21 at the time of the alleged incident which she said happened on 9 March 2014. A Twitter post detailing the allegation has since been deleted.

In response, Bieber wrote: "I don't normally address things as I have dealt with random accusations my entire career but after talking with my wife and team I have decided to speak up on an issue tonight."

He went on: "Rumors are rumors but sexual abuse is something I don't take lightly. I wanted to speak out right away but out of respect to so many victims who deal with these issues daily I wanted to make sure I gathered the facts before I made any statement."

Referring to the alleged incident he wrote: "In the past 24 hours a new Twitter appeared that told a story of myself involved with sexual abuse on March 9, 2014 in Austin Texas at the Four seasons hotel. I want to be clear. There is no truth to this story. In fact as I will soon show I was never present at that location."

He continued: "As her story told I did surprise a crowd in Austin at SXSW where I appeared on stage with my then assistant side stage and sang a few songs. What this person did not know was that I attended that show with my then gf Selena Gomez."

He also shared links to a magazine article reporting his surprise appearance at SXSW and mentioned Gomez watching him from the audience.

Bieber dated singer Selena Gomez for two years, between 2010 and 2012.

He then went on to post a series of screenshots including social media posts, receipts and hotel bookings which he said proved his innocence.

Bieber said a booking error at the Four Seasons meant he and his team didn't stay there as planned, and he was neither a resident nor a guest at the hotel on either the 9th or 10th of June.

He also said he will no longer be using the alias "Mike Lowery", a name which can be seen printed on one of the hotel reservation documents he posted.

In the final post in the stream of tweets, Bieber says he will be taking further action: "Every claim of sexual abuse should be taken very seriously and this is why my response was needed. However this story is factually impossible and that is why I will be working with Twitter and authorities to take legal action."

Bieber was discovered on YouTube by talent manager Scooter Braun when he was just 13. He has since become one of the world's best-selling musical artists.

He has been married to model Hailey Baldwin for the last two years.

Sky News has contacted Bieber's management team for comment.