Justin Bieber named Selena Gomez 6 times while refuting sexual assault allegations. Here's why fans are angry that he used her as an alibi.

• Justin Bieber has been accused of sexual assault by an anonymous woman on Twitter, who says he forced himself on her at a hotel in 2014.
• Bieber responded on Sunday with a series of tweets, in which he used his then-girlfriend Selena Gomez as his primary alibi.
• Bieber explicitly named Gomez six times, apparently urging her to publicly corroborate his claims.
• Gomez has previously accused Bieber of emotional abuse, while Bieber has said he "abused all of my relationships" and was "disrespectful to women" as a teenager.
• Gomez's fans are furious with Bieber for naming her in his defense, especially after she opened up about the "emotional chaos" he put her through.
• Some also say it's a symptom of rape culture that Gomez's name began trending when Bieber was accused of assault, which puts more pressure on her to respond than him to take responsibility.

Justin Bieber is attempting to use Selena Gomez as an alibi after he was accused of sexual assault.

The 26-year-old singer was accused by an anonymous woman on Twitter, who identified herself as Danielle but said she's not ready to reveal her last name. The account has since been deleted.

"If he comes across this, you know who I am," she wrote, referring to Bieber. "I know you remember me. I hope your life is hell after this and you drown in guilt."

Danielle said Bieber raped her in a Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas on March 9, 2014, just after the pop star turned 20 years old. She said she told him to stop and asked him to "get off," but he "forced himself inside me."

Bieber denied the allegation on Sunday, posting a series of receipts, photos, and links on Twitter, which he says proves his innocence.

Most notably, Bieber repeatedly claimed he was with Gomez, his then-girlfriend, on the night in question.

While Bieber confirmed that he performed for a crowd in Austin, Texas that night, he denies meeting any fans after the show or inviting girls to his room at the Four Seasons Hotel.

"What this person did not know was that I attended that show with my then gf Selena Gomez," he wrote. "Furthermore I stayed with Selena and our friends at an airbnb on the 9th and on the 10th stayed at a Westin because our hotel reservation at LÀ Quinta and not the four seasons was messed up."

Bieber posted screenshots that appear to show payments made to an Airbnb and the Westin Hotel. His name does not appear on any receipt, but he claimed that Mike Lowery was his alias.

Bieber and Gomez had an on-and-off romance for nearly a decade before they split for the final time in early 2018. In January, Gomez said that Bieber emotionally abused her.

For his part, Bieber has said he became "disrespectful to women" when he was 19 years old and "abused all of [his] relationships."

"I found myself doing things that I was so ashamed of, being super-promiscuous and stuff," he told Vogue last year. "My mom always said to treat women with respect. For me that was always in my head while I was doing it, so I could never enjoy it."

Although Bieber has defended fellow male celebrities accused of sexual assault, he wrote on Sunday that "every claim of sexual abuse should be taken very seriously."

"This is why my response was needed," he wrote. "However this story is factually impossible and that is why I will be working with twitter and authorities to take legal action."

Bieber explicitly named Gomez six different times while refuting the allegation, apparently urging her to publicly corroborate his claims. Her first name began trending worldwide on Twitter shortly after.

Gomez's fans are furious with Bieber for naming her in his defense, especially after she opened up about the "emotional chaos" he put her through.

Fans have accused Bieber of using Gomez as a 'security blanket to cover his tracks'

They believe it's disrespectful to publicly rely on her support considering his alleged abuse.

Some believe naming Gomez was a manipulative tactic, because she loved him in the past and may still feel compelled to help him.

Others say that, regardless of Bieber's intentions, Gomez becoming the center of attention is a symptom of rape culture, as it puts more pressure on her to respond than on Bieber to take responsibility.

"If Selena speaks up and confirms his story is true people will attack her. If she says his story was false people will attack her," one person wrote. "Either way the women who had nothing to do with it LOSES. This is exactly what he wanted. TO DEFLECT THE SITUATION ONTO HER, anyone other than him."

These points are underscored by Bieber referring to Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) as "my wife" in his first tweet addressing the accusation, rather than by her name.

Some critics have noted that Bieber could've easily followed that format and referred to Gomez as "my ex" or "my girlfriend at the time," rather than repeatedly evoking her name and directly linking her to his accusation.

Skeptics, however, say that Gomez's name primarily began trending because her fans were so hasty to defend her.

Others say it's understandable that Bieber would reference Gomez, since she could potentially clear his name.

Insider previously reached out to Bieber's team for comment, and will update this post with any new information.

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• Selena Gomez says Taylor Swift cried listening to songs about the 'emotional chaos' Gomez went through with Justin Bieber
• Justin Bieber shows support for Chris Brown amid rape allegations: 'No one can touch you'