Justin Bieber is denying allegations he fathered a child and says he has never met the woman who filed the paternity suit against him.

The teen heart-throb said during a brief appearance on NBC's Today show: "None of it is true."

He called it "crazy" that anyone would make up such a story.

The paternity suit was filed in San Diego Superior Court by Maria Yeater. She had just turned 19 when she says she and Bieber, then 16, had a brief sexual encounter after one of the singer's concerts last autumn.

Los Angeles police have said Yeater could be investigated for having had sex with a minor.

Bieber, on hand to promote a Christmas album, returns to Today to perform live on November 23.

Bieber was accused of fathering the child in a backstage bathroom but he told Today: "To set the record straight, none of it is true."

As mobs of fans screamed adoringly in Rockefeller Plaza, Bieber said: "I know I'm going to be a target, but I'm never going to be a victim.

"It's crazy, because every night after the show I've gone right from the stage right to my car. So it's crazy that some people want to make up such false allegations."

Yeater said she believes Bieber is the father because there were no other possible men she had sex with at that time.

Asked if he knows Yeater, Bieber told Today host Matt Lauer: "Never met the woman."

Yeater is asking a judge for child support and a paternity test. A hearing is scheduled for December 15. Her lawyer has described her as a stay-at-home mother who is looking for adequate child support if a paternity test determines Bieber is the father.

Bieber, 17, attracted what appeared to be hundreds of fans as he briefly chatted with Today hosts, straining to be heard above the ear-splitting screams.