Steven Tyler Denies Claims That He Coerced 16-Year-Old Into Sex, Abortion In 1970s
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Steven Tyler is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old and coercing her into an abortion in the 1970s.
Steven Tyler has denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a minor in 1973 and coerced her into an abortion.
In court documents filed last week, the Aerosmith singer claimed the relationship was consensual and that he had immunity from the lawsuit because he was the accuser’s legal guardian at the time, according to Rolling Stone.
Tyler’s response comes three months after Julia Misley filed suit accusing him of sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Misley said she was 16, and told the 25-year-old Tyler this, when they first had sex.
Misley claimed they met at an Aerosmith show in Portland, Oregon, and went back to his hotel room, where he “performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct,” per Page Six. In 1974, Tyler allegedly even convinced Misley’s mother to grant him legal guardianship.
Tyler allegedly promised her mother that Misley would remain enrolled in school as she joined him on tour and “persuaded” Misley they were in “a ‘romantic’ love affair,” per the suit. Instead, Misley claims, she was plied with drugs and alcohol — and became pregnant at 17.
Misley’s suit directly references Tyler’s memoir, in which he recalled he “almost took a teen bride” and that the underage girl’s parents “signed a paper over for me to have custody, so I wouldn’t get arrested if I took her out of state. I took her on tour with me.”
A representative for Tyler did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
The lawsuit alleges Tyler coerced Misley to get an abortion while they were on tour and threatened to cut her off financially if she didn’t comply. She claimed she moved back home afterward and became a devout Catholic after experiencing emotional distress.
Misley filed her complaint days before the California Child Victims Act, which lifted any statute of limitations on reporting sex crimes against children, expired on Dec. 31, according to People.
In his court filing, Tyler requested her suit be dismissed and argued Misley “has not suffered any injury or damage as a result of any action” of his, according to the Los Angeles Times. He also argued that if a court determines she “has been damaged,” that “any such damages were not caused” by him, Rolling Stone reported.
“He’s heaping more pain on Misley and gaslighting her by falsely claiming that she ‘consented’ and that the pain he inflicted was ‘justified and in good faith,’” her attorney, Jeff Anderson, told Rolling Stone in a statement Wednesday.
“Never have we encountered a legal defense as obnoxious and potentially dangerous as the one that Tyler and his lawyers launched this week: Their claim that legal guardianship is consent and permission for sexual abuse,” he added.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
