Mangum and another dancer had been hired to perform at party, thrown by Duke lacrosse players, on March 13, 2006. She claimed that players raped her in blockbuster allegations that touched on hot-button topics such as sex work, race and class.

Nearly 18 years after accusing three Duke University students of raping her, an account she shared in explicit and graphic detail, — Magnum has admitted she lied about the whole thing.

Crystal Mangum says she lied about being raped and sexually assaulted by three former Duke University lacrosse players in 2006.

"I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn't," Crystal Mangum said of Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans

Crystal Mangum, the woman who accused three Duke lacrosse players of rape, now says she lied about the encounter

Nearly two decades after alleging that three Duke lacrosse players had raped her at a party in 2006, Mangum admitted that she "made up a story that wasn't true"

The woman who in 2006 falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her – making national headlines that stirred tensions about race, class and the privilege of college athletes -- has admitted publicly for the first time that she made up the story.