Last December, a woman sued Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, alleging that he sexually assaulted and sexually battered her when she was a minor in the 1970s. Now, Tyler has issued a denial of all of the allegations, Rolling Stone reports and Pitchfork can confirm.
Tyler’s response was filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, and includes claims that plaintiff Julia Misley (previously known as Julia Holcomb) consented to their sexual relationship at the time, and that Tyler had immunity as her legal guardian at the time the allegations occurred. Misley claimed in the original complaint that Tyler convinced her mother to grant him guardianship over her when she was 16. Tyler also requested that the lawsuit be dismissed.
In the original lawsuit, Misley alleged that she met Tyler in 1973 when she was 16 years old and he was 25. The two apparently had a relationship that lasted three years, and Misley alleged that she “was powerless to resist” the singer’s “power, fame, and substantial financial ability,” and that he “coerced and persuaded Plaintiff into believing this was a ‘romantic love affair.’” Misley sued Tyler for sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The age of consent in California is 18.
At the time of her filing, Misley also released a statement regarding the lawsuit that mentioned Tyler: “I want this action to expose an industry that protects celebrity offenders, to cleanse and hold accountable an industry that both exploited and allowed me to be exploited for years, along with so many other naïve and vulnerable kids and adults,” she wrote. “Because I know that I am not the only one who suffered abuse in the music industry, I feel it is time for me to take this stand and bring this action, to speak up and stand in solidarity with the other survivors. I hope that from this action, we can make the music industry safer, expose the predators in it, and expose those forces in the industry that have both enabled and created a culture of permissiveness and self-protection of themselves and the celebrity offenders among them.”
Following Tyler’s denial, Misley’s attorneys issued a statement calling Tyler’s behavior “astonishing, galling, and arrogant,” and saying that the singer is “gaslighting” their client. “Tyler’s statement is more than a weak attempt to shift blame—it is a real and dangerous public safety threat to any vulnerable child who is currently in any kind of legal guardianship,” they wrote. “Assuming care for a child—whether that child is 16 months or 16 years—does not and has never implied any type of consent to sexually abuse that child. To say any different is morally and legally repugnant.”
Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Steven Tyler for comment and more information.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
http://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HELLO” or “HOLA” to 741-741