Aerosmith's Steven Tyler accused of sexual assault of a minor
Emily Brown
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Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler has officially been named in a lawsuit alleging he had a sexual relationship with a minor in the 1970s.
Plaintiff Julia Holcomb, whose current name is Julie Misley, initially filed the lawsuit in December 2022, though it did not name Tyler at the time and instead referred to the defendants as Defendant Doe 1 and Does 2-50.
The complaint has now been amended to include Tyler's name, though the remaining defendants are still unidentified.
In the lawsuit, Holcomb alleged she met Tyler just after her 16th birthday when Aerosmith played a concert in Portland, Oregon, in 1973.
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Tyler is alleged to have taken Holcomb back to his hotel room, where he 'performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct' before sending her home in a taxi the next morning, according to the lawsuit.
She also claimed the singer, who would have been 25 at the time, later convinced her mother to grant him guardianship over her when she was 16 years old, which in turn allowed her to live with Tyler and have a sexual relationship with him.
Holcomb described how she was 'powerless to resist' the singer's 'power, fame and substantial financial ability', and that Tyler 'coerced and persuaded' her into believing their relationship was a 'romantic love affair' which allegedly continued from 1973 until about three years later.
Tyler is accused of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the lawsuit, which comes after California temporarily waived statutes of limitations for childhood sexual abuse allegations.
Tyler himself is quoted in the suit using excerpts from his memoir, in which he says he 'almost took a teen bride'.
The singer does not name the girl in his book, but continues: "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 further claims she became pregnant with Tyler’s son in 1975, but that he encouraged her to get an abortion.
After the procedure, Holcomb allegedly left Tyler and went back to Portland, where she became a devout Catholic and met her husband.
She said in a statement that she hopes the legal action taken against the defendants will 'expose an industry that protects celebrity offenders, to cleanse and hold accountable an industry that both exploited and allowed [her] to be exploited for years, along with so many other naïve and vulnerable kids and adults'.
She referenced the California legislation which allowed her to file the suit and the 'exploitation' she claims she experienced from Tyler, saying: "Because I know that I am 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.”
UNILAD has reached out to representatives for Tyler for comment.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org