Crystal Mangum, who in 2006 falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her — making headlines about race, class and the privilege of college athletes — has admitted that she fabricated the story. Mangum, who is Black, told “Let’s Talk with Kat” podcast that she “made up a story that wasn’t true” about the white players who attended a party where she was hired to perform as a stripper “because I wanted validation from people and not from God.” Mangum, 46, said, “I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t and that was wrong." The interview was recorded at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, where Mangum is incarcerated for fatally stabbing her boyfriend in 2011.
The former Duke players were declared innocent in 2007 after Mangum’s story fell apart under legal scrutiny. The state attorney general concluded there was no credible evidence an attack ever occurred, and it found no DNA, witness or other evidence to confirm Mangum’s story. Jim Cooney, one of the players’ lawyers, said Mangum’s allegations caused an “enormous tornado of destruction” for countless people involved, including the accused men. They were wrongfully vilified nationally as “racially motivated rapists,” Cooney said. The prosecutor who championed Mangum’s case was disbarred for lying and misconduct. Prosecutors declined to press charges against Mangum for the false accusations. The lacrosse players reached a settlement with Duke University in 2007 after suing it for the handling of the rape allegations. Mangum, who is eligible to be released from prison as early as 2026, said she hopes the three falsely accused men can forgive her. “I want them to know that I love them and they didn’t deserve that,” she said.