Steven Tyler’s accuser Julia Holcomb, who now goes by Julia Misley, addressed her allegations that the Aerosmith frontman sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old in 1973.
The 65-year-old filed a lawsuit alleging sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to court documents obtained by Rolling Stone in a report published Thursday.
In a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, Holcomb, who is represented by Los Angeles-based attorney Jeff Anderson, explained she was taking legal action due to California legislation that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse to file lawsuits against their abusers.
“My name is Julia Misley, formerly Julia Holcomb. I am making this statement because, at the age of 65, I have discovered that through a recent change in the law, I have a new opportunity to take legal action against those that abused me in my youth,” Misley said in her statement.
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Steven Tyler’s accuser Julia Holcomb is speaking out on allegations of childhood sexual assault.
(Phillip Faraone/WireImage)
“I want this action to expose an industry that protects celebrity offenders, to cleanse and hold accountable an industry that both exploited and allowed me to be exploited for years, along with so many other naive and vulnerable kids and adults.
“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.
“I hope that, from this action, we can make the music industry safer, expose the predators in it and expose those forces in the industry that have both enabled and created a culture of permissiveness and self-protection of themselves and the celebrity offenders among them,” Holcomb added.
Holcomb alleges Tyler “retraumatized” her and her family for “profit and more fame.”
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“The complaint that has been prepared by my legal team recites in legal terms the trajectory of my life from early struggles to exploitation by Steven Tyler, the music industry, my escape from that world, my recovery and transformation, my restoration of spirit through faith, the building of a family and the rebuilding of my life.
“The complaint also recites how Tyler, for profit and more fame, retraumatized me and my family. I am grateful for this new opportunity to take action and be heard.
“My own recovery came through my Catholic faith. For years, I have watched Jeff Anderson and his firm make a difference in creating a safer place in the Roman Catholic Church and in faith communities across this country.
Steven Tyler’s accuser Julia Holcomb claims the musician exploited her when she was a teenager.
(Robyn Beck/AFP)
“I have been able to see how things within the church have improved because of those legal efforts. I recently learned that the law in California opened a window of opportunity for me and other survivors to bring action and to have our voices heard in a way we hadn’t before, and that led me to Jeff Anderson and his team.
“I believe that together we can make a difference, my voice can be heard and become a part of the cleansing of an industry that needs to be both exposed and held accountable.
“I am publicly releasing this statement with the intention of making no further statements or interviews,” Holcomb concluded.
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According to the Rolling Stone report, Holcomb claimed in the lawsuit that Tyler convinced her mother to make him her legal guardian when she was 16 years old, enabling her to live with the rocker and have sexual relations with him. Holcomb alleged that they were in a three-year relationship that began in 1976.
The lawsuit did not name Tyler and was filed against 50 unnamed defendants. However, Holcomb has spoken out publicly about her relationship with Tyler, including during a 2020 appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
The lawsuit also includes direct quotes from Tyler’s 2012 memoir “Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?” in which he wrote he “almost took a teen bride,” though he did not name the teenager.
According to the lawsuit, Tyler convinced Holcomb’s mother to allow him to become her legal guardian when she was 16.
(Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
He also wrote that “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.”
In the lawsuit, Holcomb alleged that she met Tyler at a 1973 Aerosmith concert in Portland, Oregon, shortly after her 16th birthday. The four-time Grammy Award nominee was 25 years old at the time. Per Rolling Stone, the lawsuit stated that Tyler took Holcomb back to his hotel room, where they discussed her age and her troubled home life. She alleged that he “performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct upon” her and then sent her home in a taxi the following morning.
Holcomb said she “was powerless to resist” the musician’s “power, fame and substantial financial ability.” According to the lawsuit, Tyler “coerced and persuaded Plaintiff into believing this was a ‘romantic love affair.'”
Holcomb also alleged that Tyler flew her across state lines to his next concert in Seattle, after which he performed more sexual acts on her. In the lawsuit, Holcomb claimed that, by 1974, Tyler persuaded her mother to grant him custody of her, on the condition that he would enroll her in school and provide her with medical care.
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However, the lawsuit stated that Tyler “did not meaningfully follow through on these promises and instead continued to travel with, assault and provide alcohol and drugs to Plaintiff.”
Holcomb claimed she became pregnant with Tyler’s child in 1975, but he convinced her to have an abortion. He allegedly told her that she should terminate the pregnancy because smoke inhalation and lack of oxygen due a recent apartment fire may have harmed the baby. Per the lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone, a medical professional told Holcomb that the smoke inhalation hadn’t harmed the unborn child.
Holcomb stated that she was reluctant to have the abortion but alleged that that Tyler told her that he would not continue supporting her unless she terminated the pregnancy.
She alleged that she left Tyler after the abortion. Holcomb stated that she moved back to Portland, became a devout Catholic and got married.
Though she stated that she put the relationship behind her, she alleged that the publication of Tyler’s memoir without her consent brought her “involuntary infamy.” She also objected to his framing of the alleged abuse as a “romantic, loving relationship.”
The “Dream On” singer described having a relationship with a teenage girl in both his memoir and the 1997 Aerosmith autobiography “Walk This Way.” Though Tyler referenced both the apartment fire and the abortion in the autobiography, he identified the underage girl as a 14-year-old named Diana.
Holcomb alleged that she first met Tyler at an Aerosmith concert after her 16th birthday.
(Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
Tyler wrote about the apartment fire in his memoir but didn’t reference the abortion.
In addition to her appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Rolling Stone reported that she spoke out about the allegations on the website LifeSiteNews and in the 2021 documentary “Look Away.”
During her interview with Carlson, Holcomb, who is an anti-abortion activist, recounted meeting Tyler when she was 16 years old and later becoming pregnant.
“I can remember coming to him and telling him that I was expecting a baby, and he reassured me that everything would be all right,” Holcomb said. “That we would get married. And, you know, not to worry, that he would take care of me.
“I asked to see a doctor and set up a prenatal visit, and he refused. He said, ‘No, you can’t go to a doctor. They would ask questions about how old you are and how you became pregnant and who the father is. So, you know, you can’t — you can’t go to the doctor.'”
Holcomb added that Tyler later told her that he wanted her to have an abortion and had set up an appointment through his lawyers.
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“This was very early after Roe v. Wade had been decided, so there hadn’t been many abortions, and I was pretty far along because I thought I was going to be able to keep my baby,” she said. “I was at least five months along, but I don’t know for sure because I had not been allowed to see a doctor.”
Holcomb said Tyler insisted that she have the abortion though she “begged” to keep the baby.
Holcomb filed a lawsuit alleging sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to court documents obtained by Rolling Stone in a report published Thursday.
(Phillip Faraone/WireImage)
“It came down to I can have the abortion or I could hit the street,” she said.
Holcomb told Carlson she felt helpless because she had dropped out of high school to be with Tyler, was never taught to drive and had no resources.
“I was completely dependent upon Steven in every way. So I was terrified. And I just caved in out of fear.”
She said that she endured a “horrific late-term saline abortion” that traumatized her, adding that it took her years to recover from the experience.
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Later in the interview, Holcomb said that she believed Tyler had regrets after the alleged abortion.
“Steven experienced the regret after having gone through the ordeal of my abortion. He wrote in his book, his reaction was, “Jesus. What have I done?”, she said.
“And certainly, that is an illustration of how traumatic it was even for Steven, and he is not exactly a tender-hearted, sensitive person. He is a heavy metal rocker, and that was his reaction. “
Steven Tyler did not respond to Fox News Digital’s immediate request for comment at the time of publication.
