Courtney Love accused of grabbing journalist's crotch

Courtney Love has been accused of grabbing a journalist's crotch during a photo opportunity.

During an episode of his podcast Quite Frankly on Thursday, journalist Frank Elaridi claimed that he interviewed the Hole frontwoman for Nightline at the Coachella festival when the incident occurred around six to ten years ago.

"I'm at her afterparty interviewing her in a side room and she's like, come hang out with us! So I do," he recalled. "We take a photo together, and the second the photo's done, she grabs my crotch like, really hard."

Elaridi then shared a photo of the moment and revealed that he was "caught off guard" by her behaviour.

The reporter later insisted to People that he doesn't want to get Love "cancelled or in trouble", and explained that he used the story to illustrate a double standard between men and women in a post #MeToo world.

"Courtney was nothing but kind when I interviewed her, and I genuinely think that she was just playing the persona of a rockstar," he said. "She probably thought she was going to give this kid a photo to show his friends and talk about years from now."

However, he noted that male public figures have been "cancelled for less" and he hopes society gets to a place where people are given "a chance to grow and evolve" instead of being "cast... out permanently".

While Elaridi didn't feel threatened by Love, he acknowledged that the situation could have been different if he was a woman and Love was a man.

"With that in mind, I do see why there might be a double standard where it's just not the same, because I didn't ever feel in danger, or like she could overpower me," he added.

Love has yet to comment on his claims.