Steven Tyler was named in a lawsuit filed last December in Los Angeles filled with troubling allegations of “sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress,” as reported exclusively by Rolling Stone at the time.
“The plaintiff Julia Holcomb [now Julia Misley] alleges that Tyler convinced Holcomb’s mother to grant him guardianship over her when she was 16 years old, which consequently allowed her to live with him and engage in a sexual relationship,” Rolling Stone‘s Ethan Millan relayed within the sprawling report. “She claims they were together from 1973 until about three years later.”
Millman continued, “The suit itself doesn’t name Tyler, naming the defendants as Defendant Doe 1 and Does 2 through 50. But Holcomb — who Rolling Stone mentioned in a 1976 profile of the band in reference to Tyler’s romantic life — has been public about her experience with Tyler in the past, and the lawsuit directly quotes from Tyler’s own memoir.”
The allegations also include Misley being pregnant with Tyler’s child in 1975 at 17 years old, resulting in an abortion at Tyler’s request.
Millman reported on the ongoing case again on Wednesday, April 5. His new Rolling Stone piece states that the Aerosmith leader “has denied all the allegations.” Tyler is said to have filed his denial in Los Angeles County Superior Court last week.
“Tyler, represented by attorney Shawn Holley, issued 24 affirmative defenses denying all the allegations,” Millman wrote. “Among those defenses, Tyler alleged that Misley’s ‘claims are barred in whole or in part by Plaintiff’s consent’ and ‘because of immunity or qualified immunity to Defendant as caregiver and/or guardian.’”
Millman additionally noted, “Tyler also alleged that Misley ‘has not suffered any injury or damage as a result of any action by Defendant,’ further stating that ‘if it is determined that Plaintiff has been damaged, then any such damages were not caused by Defendant.’ Tyler claimed the alleged conduct — presumably writing about the experience in his memoirs — is protected under the first amendment.”
Misley’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, released a statement on Wednesday that denounces Tyler for “gaslighting,” “using a sham legal guardianship to avoid prosecution for sex crimes,” and “40 years of trauma.”
“In a new court filing seeking to deny Julia Misley her day in court, Tyler claims the teenager ‘consented’ to his sexual crimes,” the statement begins. “It’s astonishing, galling and arrogant that an adult is trying to defend his crimes and exploitation of an unguarded 16-year-old for his perverse pleasure.”
Read Anderson’s full statement here.