The boyfriend of a University of Mississippi student at the center of a viral internet rumor spoke out on Thursday.
Evan Solis joined his girlfriend Mary Kate Cornett in decrying the salacious allegations claiming she slept with his father.
“The unbelievable rumors about my family and Mary Kate’s are unacceptable and need to be addressed,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “The accusations are unequivocally false. Also, my faith in my father and our relationship is unwavering. He is wholly innocent and being unfairly slandered with no opportunity to speak on his own behalf prior to these horrendously false statements.”
“Please know that spreading outrageous accusations with no regard to veracity is as inexcusable as starting the rumor itself. What we say and believe have real consequences for others. I pray we can use this painful moment to learn and grow going forward.”
Cornett specifically called out ESPN personality Pat McAfee, former NFL player Antonio Brown and Barstool Sports for amplifying the “utter and complete lies,” her father posted in a statement on Facebook.
McAfee brought up the rumor on his titular show during an interview with NFL insider Adam Schefter this week, per TMZ, while Barstool Sports personality Kevin Clancy discussed on his personal social media accounts.
ESPN declined comment to The Post, while Barstool Sports CEO Dave Portnoy denied his company played a hand in spreading the rumor.
“Barstool Sports did not mention or spread this rumor on any of our Barstool owned channels as far as I know,” Portnoy said in a statement to The Post. “Our editors instinctively made the decision to avoid this story as it seemed there was a high likelihood it could have been fabricated. If I’m wrong about that I’m happy to see where it was posted and revisit.”
On a GoFundMe page, Cornett wrote that she had been a “victim of a deliberate and coordinated cyber attack” and that she had hired legal representation and forensic data investigators to look into the matter.
She said that her family had filed reports with the University of Mississippi campus police, local authorities and the FBI.
In an Instagram post on Thursday evening, Cornett described the rumor as “100% completely false and it is quite frankly, inexcusable that such disturbing accusations went viral.”
“During this difficult time, my family and I have been overwhelmed with support from people all over the country. Thank you, it mattered! I especially appreciate the support from those who know me well enough to know how ridiculous this is,” Cornett wrote.
“It is important to note that harassment and bullying of this manner is NEVER okay. Cyber attacks based on nothing but lies and misinformation happen all too often. This experience has awakened me to the dangers of how we all can be manipulated to believe things we read on social media that are not true. My hope is that I am able to use the heartbreak and pain I have felt to help others that go through things like this in the future.”
