--- title: Roy Moore Says He Doesn't Remember Dating Teenagers description: Responding to allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with teenagers, Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore denied the reports canonical: https://time.com/5019836/roy-moore-dating-teenagers-alabama-senate-sean-hannity/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-10T21:49:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:12:20.848Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'I Dated a Lot of Young Ladies.' Roy Moore Says He Doesn't Remember Dating Teens og:description: He said the allegations were "false and misleading" og:url: https://time.com/5019836/roy-moore-dating-teenagers-alabama-senate-sean-hannity/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ebb766f4b767b17/6988e5720a4a220b289d0aad/roy-moore-senate-allegations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Alabama GOP Senate Candidate Roy Moore Holds Election Night Gathering In Special Election For Session's Seat og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'I Dated a Lot of Young Ladies.' Roy Moore Says He Doesn't Remember Dating Teens twitter:description: He said the allegations were "false and misleading" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ebb766f4b767b17/6988e5720a4a220b289d0aad/roy-moore-senate-allegations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'I Dated a Lot of Young Ladies.' Roy Moore Says He Doesn't Remember Dating Teenagers > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 10, 2017 9:49 PM UTC  MONTGOMERY, AL - SEPTEMBER 26: Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Alabama, Roy Moore speaks to reporters at an election-night rally after declaring victory on September 26, 2017 in Montgomery, Alabama. Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama supreme court, defeated incumbent Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) in a primary runoff election for the seat vacated when Jeff Sessions was appointed U.S. Attorney General by President Donald Trump. Moore will now face Democratic candidate Doug Jones in the general election in December. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) MONTGOMERY, AL - SEPTEMBER 26: Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Alabama, Roy Moore speaks to reporters at an election-night rally after declaring victory on September 26, 2017 in Montgomery, Alabama. Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama supreme court, defeated incumbent Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) in a primary runoff election for the seat vacated when Jeff Sessions was appointed U.S. Attorney General by President Donald Trump. Moore will now face Democratic candidate Doug Jones in the general election in December. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 10, 2017 9:49 PM UTC Responding to allegations that he engaged in [sexual misconduct with teenagers](http://time.com/5017542/roy-moore-sexual-contact-underage-senate/), Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore categorically denied the reports but was inconsistent in his defense. Moore began his appearance on conservative pundit Sean Hannity’s radio show by saying, “These allegations are completely false and misleading.” He then said, “After my return from the military I dated a lot of young ladies.” Four women have accused him of pursuing them when he was in his 30s and they ranged in age from 14 to 18\. But Moore then changed his tune, saying “I don’t remember” dating women that much younger than him, and, “I don’t remember ever dating any girl without the permission of her mother.” And later he said “it would have been out of my customary behavior” to date women that young when he was in his thirties. “This never happened, they know it never happened, and obviously you don’t wait 40 years to bring up something like this,” he said. He was similarly contradictory talking about the specific allegation from Gloria Thacker Deason, who [told the Washington _Post_ ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/woman-says-roy-moore-initiated-sexual-encounter-when-she-was-14-he-was-32/2017/11/09/1f495878-c293-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0%5Fstory.html?tid=ss%5Ftw&utm%5Fterm=.fceece18f5e5)she was 18 when she went on dates with Moore and he gave her Mateus Rosé wine. The legal drinking age in Alabama at the time was 19\. He said he didn’t remember going on dates with Deason, though he acknowledged he knew her. Then, he said, “As I recall, she was 19 or older, that just never happened, I never provided alcohol, beer or intoxicating liquors to a minor… I seem to remember her as a good girl.” He also said he remembered knowing Debbie Wesson Gibson, though does not remember speaking to her high school civics class, as she claimed. “I seem to remember knowing her parents,” he said. “I remember her as a good girl.” He said he does not remember going on dates with her. But Moore categorically denied engaging in sexual behavior with then 14-year-old Leigh Corfman. “I don’t know Ms. Corfman from anybody,” Moore said. “I’ve never talked to her, never had any contact with her.” He claimed her accusations are “politically motivated.” “If you abuse a 14 year old, you shouldn’t be a Senate candidate,” Moore said. “But I did not do that.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5019836/roy-moore-dating-teenagers-alabama-senate-sean-hannity/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5019836/roy-moore-dating-teenagers-alabama-senate-sean-hannity/"},"headline":"'I Dated a Lot of Young Ladies.' 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