INXS guitarist Kirk Pengilly has left fans a little ~Mystified~ after reportedly waxing nostalgic for the days when “you could slap a woman on the butt” and not be accused of sexual harassment.
Attending a Movember charity event in Melbourne on Thursday, the 59-year-old reportedly told the AAP that he missed the good ol’ days when slapping a woman on the bum was apparently seen as a “compliment”, adding that men no longer feel like they can engage in arse-slappery, as it’s now generally viewed as sexual harassment.
“I really loved the 60s and 70s when life was so simple and you could slap a woman on the butt and it was taken as a compliment, not as sexual harassment,” he allegedly said.
Pengilly, who’s married to surfer Layne Beachley, also allegedly fretted that men were starting to feel like they couldn’t even compliment a woman anymore, in case it was viewed as sexual harassment.
Music Feeds has contacted Pengilly for comment.
According to the Victorian Government’s legal aid website, slapping someone on the bum without their permission is more than just sexual harassment, it’s considered indecent assault under the law.
The same rules apply in New South Wales, with indecent assault defined as “unwanted touching of a person’s body by another person. For example it can include kissing or inappropriate touching of a person’s breasts, bottom or genitals”.
Pengilly’s comments come as the entertainment industry is being rocked by an avalanche of sexual misconduct claims, most recently — here in Australia — against Burke’s Backyard icon Don Burke and actor Geoffrey Rush.
While in the music industry, members of the bands Slaves, Don Broco, Brand New, Suicide Silence, Pierce The Veil, Nothing But Thieves and Sydney’s With Confidence have all been hit with various allegations of sexual misconduct.
Earlier this year, a bunch of Aussie festivals, musicians and venues united to launch the ‘Your Choice’ campaign, in response to a startling number of alleged sexual assaults at festivals including Rainbow Serpent, Groovin The Moo, UNIFY Gathering and Falls last summer.
