A woman has accused Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler of sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and forced abortion.
The incidents allegedly took place in the seventies when the woman, Julia Holcomb, was a minor. Tyler was 25 at the time.
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According to her lawsuit, Tyler and Holcomb lived together and had a sexual relationship after he convinced her mother to give him guardianship so that this situation would be possible.
Tyler himself revealed in his 2011 memoir that he’d previously had a “romantic, loving relationship” with an underage girl. He noted, “Her parents fell in love with me, 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.”
Holcomb alleges in the suit that Tyler claimed he would provide for her, but she says “he instead continued to travel with, assault and provide alcohol and drugs” to her.
The suit also says that when Holcomb was 17, she was pregnant with Tyler’s baby and he wanted her to get an abortion. The plaintiff claims that she was unsure what to do about the pregnancy, but ultimately got an abortion after Tyler threatened to completely cut her off.
Holcomb said in a statement about her suit, “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 added, “Because I know I’m 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.”
Tyler has not publicly responded to Holcomb’s allegations.
