American singer and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old in 1973 and forced her to have an abortion. In response to the claims made in a lawsuit filed in December 2022, Tyler argued that the plaintiff had consented to their sexual relationship. Tyler also claimed he had legal immunity as her guardian at the time. He also asked for the case to be dismissed, citing 24 affirmative defenses denying the allegations.
The response comes three months after the plaintiff, Julia Misley, accused the Aerosmith frontman of sexual assault and sexual battery in the 1970s. Misley also alleged that Steven Tyler forced her to have an abortion during their relationship. She also claimed that Tyler “coerced and persuaded” her into believing they had a romantic relationship. The relationship allegedly started when she was 16, and he was 25. Misley also accused Tyler of sexual abuse during their relationship.
Tyler, who admitted in his memoir to having a relationship with a then-unnamed 16-year-old girl, claimed that Misley ,
has not suffered any injury or damage as a result of any action by Defendant.” He also stated that “if it is determined that Plaintiff has been damaged, then any such damages were not caused by Defendant.”
Misley’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, criticized the Aerosmith frontman’s defense. Anderson stated that Tyler was using “a sham legal guardianship to avoid prosecution for sex crimes”. He also criticized Tyler’s lawyers for launching an “obnoxious and potentially dangerous” legal defense. The defense claimed that legal guardianship was consent and permission for sexual abuse.
