Bar named in Cornell rape lawsuit disputes accuser's account, says she was never served alcohol while underage
A bar named in the lawsuit at the center of the Cornell University sexual assault firestorm is disputing the alleged victim's claim that it served her alcohol while she was underage on the night of the alleged assault — a denial the bar has now also lodged in court.
Moonies Bar & Nightclub, a downtown Ithaca, New York bar popular with Cornell students, told Fox News that underage guests at a private Tri Delta sorority event on Oct. 19, 2024, were marked on their hands, while guests over 21 received wristbands. The bar says its bartenders served alcohol only to guests wearing wristbands.
The complaint and Moonies' account both say Doe was marked as underage. They differ over whether she was then served alcohol.
Doe's lawsuit alleges a Moonies bouncer placed an "X" on each of the then-20-year-old's hands to signify she was under 21, but that she was nevertheless served and consumed at least one alcoholic beverage inside the bar.
The Chi Phi fraternity house stands on the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, N.Y., on Oct. 2, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
"No alcohol was served to anyone who had mark on their hands," Moonies said in a statement to Fox News Tuesday, disputing the allegations.
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Moonies also told Fox News that Doe later worked for the company from February to March 2025 and discussed the October 2024 incident during that period.
According to the bar, Doe never said during those conversations that she had been intoxicated at Moonies or served alcohol by one of its bartenders.
Fox News Digital contacted Doe's attorney for a response to both of Moonies' assertions.
In a formal answer filed Sunday in New York Supreme Court, Zareen Enterprises LLC, which does business as Moonies Bar & Nightclub, denied unlawfully selling or furnishing alcohol to anyone under the legal drinking age and denied selling or furnishing alcohol to any visibly intoxicated person.
The filing specifically denies the paragraph of Doe's complaint alleging she was served alcohol at Moonies despite having been marked as underage. Moonies also denied that any act or omission on its part caused Doe's alleged injuries.
The bar asked the court to dismiss the complaint against it in its entirety.
The dispute comes as the case has roiled Cornell and drawn national attention, with thousands rallying on campus Monday and faculty senators now pushing a no-confidence resolution against the university's central administration over its handling of sexual assault. Gov. Kathy Hochul has also appointed the New York Attorney General's Office as special prosecutor, with Attorney General Letitia James leading an "active criminal investigation."
Moonies said it hosted the private Tri Delta event from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. that night with about 185 guests, including roughly 150 who were over 21 and 35 who were underage.
The bar said it had a contract with the sorority and marked underage guests' hands while providing wristbands to those over 21.
In the statement, Moonies called Doe's allegation that she was served alcohol "completely inaccurate," saying its employees "strictly followed the rules and did not serve alcohol to any underaged guests."
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In its court filing, Moonies also asserted as affirmative defenses that Doe cannot establish that it unlawfully sold alcohol to an underage or visibly intoxicated person, or that any alleged unlawful sale caused her injuries. The bar maintained that it complied with all applicable laws and regulations governing alcohol sales.
The dispute concerns one part of Doe's account of the hours preceding the alleged assault and what happened at Moonies before she arrived at Chi Phi.
According to her lawsuit, Doe began the evening drinking vodka at her Tri Delta sorority house before a sorority house mother accompanied her to Moonies. She later went to another Ithaca bar before leaving alone around 11 p.m. and walking to the Chi Phi fraternity house to meet a friend who was a member.
By the time she arrived at Chi Phi, Doe was visibly intoxicated and had consumed roughly 10 standard drinks over three hours, according to her complaint.
Once inside, Doe alleges she was given another beer before going upstairs, where two fraternity members pressured her into snorting what they said was ketamine, a drug she says she had never previously taken. She alleges they also gave her marijuana and high-proof liquor before sexual activity began.
Doe alleges other fraternity members became involved as the night progressed and that she eventually became "completely incapacitated." Seven former Chi Phi fraternity brothers are accused in her lawsuit of sexual assault and rape.
Students protest on Ho Plaza at Cornell University, Monday October 5, 2026 in Ithaca, NY. in response to an The protest in response to an alleged sexual assault in 2024, accused are some members of the Chi Phi fraternity. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)
The men have denied wrongdoing, with some maintaining that sexual activity was consensual and others denying they participated. No criminal charges have been filed against the seven men.
The case burst into public view when Doe filed the 101-page lawsuit Sept. 16, nearly two years after the alleged encounter.
In addition to the seven former fraternity members, Doe sued Cornell University, Chi Phi and affiliated entities, her own Tri Delta sorority and Moonies, among others, alleging that institutions around her failed to protect her before, during and after the events of that night.
Students protest on Ho Plaza at Cornell University on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Ithaca, N.Y., in response to an alleged sexual assault in 2024 involving members of the Chi Phi fraternity. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)
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The lawsuit's allegations prompted renewed scrutiny of the original criminal investigation.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who initially declined to pursue charges, has said the six-page sworn statement his office received from Cornell University Police in 2024 did not allege that Doe was drugged against her will or gang-raped and instead described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as "voluntary, conscious, and consensual."
A fuller transcript of Doe's November 2024 police interviews later obtained by CBS New York included statements in which she distinguished the initial sexual encounter from later activity and explicitly told investigators she had been raped.
Van Houten said his office had never received that transcript.
Fox News' Michelle Langer contributed to this report.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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