NEW YORK (DPA) - Musician Moby is singing a different tune now, backing away from his insistence that he once dated actress Natalie Portman.

"As some time has passed, I've realised that many of the criticisms levelled at me regarding my inclusion of Natalie in (his new memoir) Then It Fell Apart are very valid," he posted on Saturday (May 25).

"I also fully recognise that it was truly inconsiderate of me to not let her know about her inclusion in the book beforehand, and equally inconsiderate for me to not fully respect her reaction," he continued.

"I have a lot of admiration for Natalie, for her intelligence, creativity and animal rights activism, and I hate that I might have caused her and her family distress," he said.

His claims were rebutted by Oscar winner Portman, 37, after the release of the memoir.

Moby, 53, pushed back at her denial, even putting up a photo - of himself with his arm around the actress as proof - for several days before finally posting his apology.

In an interview, Portman said she was surprised to "hear that he characterised the very short time that I knew him as dating because my recollection is of a much older man being creepy with me, when I just had graduated from high school".