Rock star Steven Tyler (75) is accused of sexual assault by the American Julia Misley. Now Tyler has commented on the lawsuit.
The relationship between the then 16-year-old and the Aerosmith singer is said to have started in 1973. Tyler now denies the allegations. In his response in Los Angeles County Superior Court, he listed a “long list of defenses,” according to People.
In it he states that the plaintiff consented to their sexual relationship and that he, as her legal guardian, had immunity at the time of the alleged incidents. He moved that the lawsuit be dismissed in its entirety. Plaintiff’s attorney described Tyler’s behavior as “gaslighting.”
Misley, then known as Holcomb, claims in her lawsuit, filed three months ago, that she met the singer after a concert. Several illegal sexual acts are said to have taken place in a hotel room, for which she is now demanding compensation.
The relationship is said to have continued for three years. Plaintiff states that at the time she was “powerless to resist Tyler’s power, fame and considerable financial opportunity.” She also demands compensation for the psychological consequences of the relationship.
The relationship went so far that, with the consent of Holcomb’s mother, Tyler was awarded guardianship of the girl. The defendant “forced and convinced her to believe” that she was in a “‘romantic love relationship'” with him. He is said to have taken her on tour, supplied her with drugs and forced her to have an abortion.
Tyler himself recounted his relationship with a minor he had custody of and took with him on tour in his 2012 memoir, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir.
The lawsuit was made possible in the state of California because a corresponding statute of limitations for the sexual abuse of minors has been temporarily suspended.
