Steven Tyler of Aerosmith Accused of Sexual Assault and Battery of a Minor in the 1970s

January 3, 2023

Content warning: This article discusses childhood sexual abuse

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith is being sued by a woman who claims that the singer sexually abused her while they were in a relationship in the 1970s. In a story broken by Rolling Stone, the complainant Julia Holcomb attests that she was 16 when she first met Tyler in 1973 and that she was “powerless to resist” his “power, fame and substantial financial ability.” Tyler was 25 at the time, and the relationship lasted three years.

The matter has been brought before the courts in California after the state instituted a temporary lift on the statute of limitations regarding historic childhood sexual abuse. The deadline for claims was 31st December 2022.

“Powerless to Resist”: Assault allegations brought against Steven Tyler

A woman claims Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler engaged in a sexual relationship with her in the mid-1970s, starting when she was 16 years old.

In his book, Tyler says he "almost took a teen bride" and that "her parents fell in love with me…"https://t.co/2aR3YIlIKp

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) December 30, 2022

It is alleged that Holcomb is the unnamed partner referred to in Tyler’s 2011 autobiography, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? In the memoir, Tyler detailed his sexual experiences with a minor. “She was sixteen, she knew how to nasty, and there wasn’t a hair on it,” he wrote, before divulging that he convinced the girl’s parents to appoint him as her legal guardian so that he could take her with him on tour.

“With my bad self being twenty-six and she barely old enough to drive and sexy as hell, I just fell madly in love with her […] She was my heart’s desire, my partner in crimes of passion.”

In a 2011 Washington Post review of the autobiography, writer Fiona Zublin comments, “Tyler’s psychobabble is truly offensive only when it comes to his ideas on gender […] He views women as nurturers and sluts but rarely as actual people.”

In the legal claim, Holcomb states that she was prepared to move on with her life but that her inclusion in Tyler’s memoir changed her mind.