White Lines star Nuno Lopes hits back at filmmaker A.M Lukas and says he is 'morally and ethically' incapable of drugging and raping them - after they launched suit accusing him of attack 17 years ago at Tribeca film festival

White Lines star Nuno Lopes has hit back at filmmaker A.M Lukas after they accused him of drugging and raping them 17 years ago at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The Portuguese actor and DJ, 45, told DailyMail.com he is 'morally and ethically' incapable of the allegations in the lawsuit filed against him on Monday by the American filmmaker - who uses they/them pronouns.

'My conscience is absolutely clear, I am morally and ethically incapable of committing the acts I am accused of,' Lopes told DailyMail.com. 'I would never drug anyone, and I would never take advantage of a woman who was incapacitated, either by too much alcohol or by the influence of any other substances. Not today and not 17 years ago. I have the utmost respect and solidarity for all victims of any kind of violence.'

Lopes went on to claim Lukas' lawyer recently sent him a letter containing the accusations and demanding a monetary sum and an apology, both of which he rejected.

He added: 'I am aware of the extremely serious consequences of this case and how my decision to reject a settlement and instead have this case tried in a public court has consequences for my personal and professional reputation.'

In their lawsuit, Lukas claims Lopes spiked their drink at a friend's premiere party at Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Film Festival and took them back to his apartment 17 years ago.

The filmmaker, whose 2018 short film One Cambodian Family Please for My Pleasure featured at the Sundance Festival, says they needed to take anti-HIV medication after the attack which left them with PTSD as her memories of it began to return. 

The lawsuit was filed in New York just three days before the deadline for claims under the state's Adult Survivors Act which temporarily waives the statute of limitations for action against historic sexual offenses.

Lukas said: 'We cannot accept a world in which perpetrators of heinous, inhumane behavior are able to live their lives out in the open, with impunity and no social consequences, while their victims suffer in silence.

'Mr Lopes was given the opportunity to take responsibility for his actions: to acknowledge what he did; to account for it, and to apologize. He immediately declined to do so and communicated in no uncertain terms that he would never acknowledge any wrongdoing whatsoever.'

Lukas said in the lawsuit they remember their body feeling 'unusually heavy' after being introduced to Lopes.

They had little immediate memory of the night other than Lopes holding up their limp legs, 'raping them from the front as they drifted in and out of consciousness,' per the lawsuit.

Their other memories included 'Mr Lopes raping Lukas from behind as Lukas wondered where they were and who they were with, and Mr Lopes masturbating over Lukas's naked, motionless body'.

The suit claims Lopes called them a cab around 7.30am the following morning, and gave them $30 to pay for it, along with his phone number.

Soon afterwards they say they received a message from an unknown number that sounded as though a man was masturbating and moaning while calling Lukas's name into the phone.

Lukas' lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. 

Lopes who has 430,000 followers on Instagram has received acting credits in 52 productions and won five Golden Globes in his native Portugal.