Billboard is reporting that Aerosmith singer, Steven Tyler, is demanding to go to trial this fall as scheduled, in a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault in the 1970s – saying he wants his “day in court” rather than have the case “continue to drag on.”
The rock legend is facing a looming trial in October over accusations leveled by Julia Misley, who claims Tyler “groomed” and “manipulated” her as a teenager decades ago – and that he essentially admitted it by referring to her as his almost “child bride” in a memoir.
Misley’s attorneys want the courtroom showdown pushed back, arguing in court filings this week that they’ve faced “unavoidable delays” in preparing for trial. But in their own court filing on Tuesday (Aug. 19), Tyler’s attorneys blasted that move as unfair to their client.
Trending on Billboard
“For the past two and a half years, Tyler has been diligently preparing for and awaiting his day in court to defend against Plaintiff’s unmeritorious accusations,” writes the star’s lawyer, David Long-Daniels. “Tyler deserves to see this matter resolved on the current trial timeline, so that it may have his day in court and not have this case continue to drag on.”
Misley (formerly Holcomb) sued Tyler in 2022, claiming she was the unnamed person he referred to in his memoir as a “teen bride” he almost married. She says he abused his fame to win control over her – including signing an agreement with her parents to take legal guardianship – and sexually assaulted her for three years starting in 1973, when she was just 16 years old.
In efforts to dismiss the case, Tyler hasn’t denied the basic facts. But his lawyers have characterized the pairing as a consensual “romantic relationship” between a man “in his mid-twenties at the time” and a woman “between the ages of 16 and 19” — arguing that it was legal under the age of consent. That motion remains pending, awaiting a ruling.
Read the full report at Billboard.
