Allegations that Oilers owner Daryl Katz paid underage ballerina for sex dropped

Lina PortmanMay 30, 2024

5 1 minute read

The owner of the Edmonton Oilers has been named as a third-party defendant in a civil suit, which alleges Katz paid “at least” $75,000 to a teenage ballerina for sex. (Getty)

Allegations that Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz paid an underage ballerina for sex were dropped in a civil lawsuit in the United States earlier this month.

Katz and Sage Humphries – the dancer in question – have denied having a sexual relationship.

The allegations were made by dance instructor Mitchell Taylor Button and his wife as part of the couple's defense against a sexual abuse lawsuit launched by seven aspiring ballerinas in 2021. The Buttons voluntarily dismissed their claims after being presented with proof that the allegations were not true.

Their claim claimed that Humphries had three previous sexual relationships as an underage teenager with much older men, including Katz. It also claimed that Katz paid Humphries $75,000 for “his sexual favors.”

The Buttons' attorney, Marc Randazza, apologized for any harm caused by the false accusations and released the following statement, a copy of which was received by Yahoo Sports:

“Dusty and Mitchell Button made their allegations based on their understanding of the information provided to them by Sage Humphries. They even verified his birth year with reliable third-party sources. Nonetheless, Mr. Katz's attorney provided the Buttons with credible evidence that the main allegations were not true and that these sources were all false.

“Based on this credible evidence, Dusty Button and Mitchell Button have dismissed their complaints against Daryl Katz. I want to personally apologize for any harm that the factually incorrect allegations may have caused Mr. Katz and his family. We We filed these complaints in good faith, but as soon as I doubted my ability to maintain them, I took corrective action and asked the court to strike all relevant references from the record.

“No one should repeat these allegations, in any context, without noting that they have been withdrawn and repudiated.”

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Lina Portman

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