Natalie Portman describes Moby's claims that the pair dated as 'disturbing' and labels the musician 'creepy'

Moby and Natalie Portman pose for photographs in 2001. Photo / Getty

Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman has slammed techno musician Moby for his "very disturbing" claims that the pair dated in the late 1990s.

In his recent memoir Then It Fell Apart, Moby writes that they had a brief relationship when he was 33 and she was 20.

After they met backstage, Moby recalls going to parties with Portman and going to see her at Harvard University, "kissing under the centuries-old oak trees. At midnight she brought me to her dorm room and we lay down next to each other on her small bed. After she fell asleep I carefully extracted myself from her arms and took a taxi back to my hotel".

Later in the book he writes: "For a few weeks I had tried to be Natalie's boyfriend, but it hadn't worked out," adding that she broke off the relationship after meeting someone else.

In a recent interview with Harper's Bazaar, Portman refuted the claims and told the magazine: "I was surprised to hear that he characterised the very short time that I knew him as dating.

"Because my recollection is a much older man being creepy with me when I just had graduated high school."

She also disputes her age at the time: "He said I was 20; I definitely wasn't. I was a teenager. I had just turned 18. There was no fact checking from him or his publisher — it almost feels deliberate."

Accusing Moby of leveraging her to increase sales, Portman added: "That he used this story to sell his book was very disturbing to me.

"There are many factual errors and inventions. I would have liked him or his publisher to reach out to fact check."

Moby has responded to Portman's denials, taking to Instagram to share a photo of the pair and double down on the story he shared in the book.

Then It Fell Apart, Moby's second memoir, also shares the musician's meetings with entertainment luminaries such as Bono and David Bowie, as well as a time he touched his naked penis against Donald Trump at a glitzy party.

Moby has had a long career, starting as a techno musician with his self-titled debut in 1992 before flirting with hardcore punk in the mid-90s. His biggest hit came with 1999's Play, which topped the charts around the world.