Flatley set to sue for €80m after false rape accusation

THE California Supreme Court has ruled that Riverdance star Michael Flatley can proceed with an €80 million extortion and defamation case against a woman who claimed he had raped her.

Flatley’s lawsuit against Tyna Marie Robertson was triggered by a January 2003 letter he received from the woman’s lawyer claiming he raped her in a Las Vegas hotel the year before.

In the letter and on subsequent phone calls, Robertson’s lawyer Dean Mauro threatened to file a sexual assault lawsuit unless the Irish dancer agreed to a “seven-figure” settlement, according to court papers.