Aerosmith's Steven Tyler says woman accusing him of sexual assault cannot use memoir against him
Amelia Jones
Featured Image Credit: Associated Press / Alamy
Steven Tyler of Aerosmith says that the woman who is suing him for alleged sexual assault cannot use his memoir against him.
Tyler's legal team filed the response to Julia Misley, formerly Julia Holcomb, on Friday (28 April) alongside a long list of of defences to the sexual assault claims listed in her initial December lawsuit.
The response listed 24 affirmative defences, denying all of the allegations, and claimed that she 'has not suffered any injury or damage as a result of any action by Defendant' and 'if it is determined that Plaintiff has been damaged, then any such damages were not caused by Defendant.'
The team of the 74-year-old frontman filed documents to a Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming that plaintiff cannot use his memoirs as cause for 'emotional distress' in court as it was 'free speech' and she was not identified.
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The document also claims that a two-year statute of limitations for the claim applies to his 2011 memoir, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?, while a second memoir, 1997's Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith, has also been brought into question.
According to legal documents obtained by People, they say that the book's contents, including the statements about the relationship, are 'a matter of public interest and qualify as protected activity'.
The response also says that the book's contents 'do not qualify as outrageous conduct that was intended to cause emotional distress. Nor can Plaintiff demonstrate that she actually experienced severe emotional distress as a result of the memoirs.'
"To the contrary, it is Plaintiff who has continued to speak publicly about her relationship with Tyler for over a decade and who is still capitalizing on Tyler's fame by pitching herself as his 'former girlfriend' in her professional-speaker bio," the document continues.
"Finally, Tyler's memoirs relay his own experiences from his newsworthy life."
Tyler's team also claimed in a previous document that Misley's allegations were barred in whole or in part by Plaintiff’s consent' and 'because of immunity or qualified immunity to Defendant as caregiver and/or guardian'.
He also requested that the lawsuit be dismissed.
The response comes three months after Misley filed a lawsuit against Tyler for sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Tyler's attorney, Shawn Holley, said in a filing that his client denies all the charges made against him.
Misley filed the lawsuit just before the 31st December deadline for California's Child Victims Act, which lifted the statute of limitations on reporting childhood sexual abuse crimes.
In her lawsuit, she alleged that she met Tyler just after her 16th birthday, when his band played a concert in Portland, Oregon, in 1973.
Misley alleged that the musician was able to convince her mother to grant guardianship over her, and claimed that she was 'powerless to resist' his 'power, fame and substantial financial ability.'
Tyler himself is quoted in the suit using excerpts from his memoir, in which he says he 'almost took a teen bride'.
"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." he said.
Misley also claimed that she became pregnant in 1975, and alleged that Tyler convinced her to get an abortion.
He was not initially identified by name in Misley's complaint, however, the complaint was amended to include the singer's name.
UNILAD has contacted a representative for Steven Tyler for comment.