Steven Tyler accused of 'mauling and groping' teen model in new sexual assault lawsuit
Nearly a year after being sued for sexual assault, Steven Tyler faces additional allegations of sexual abuse in a new lawsuit.
The Aerosmith frontman is being sued by former teen model Jeanne Bellino in a lawsuit filed Thursday in New York Supreme Court, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by USA TODAY. Bellino claims she met Tyler when she was 17 during a modeling trip in the summer of approximately 1975.
In the lawsuit, Bellino alleges that after she and a friend met with Tyler and his entourage at the Warwick Hotel, the group walked together down Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. During the walk, Bellino made a comment that irritated Tyler and led him to force her inside a nearby phone booth.
"While holding her captive, Tyler stuck his tongue down her throat and put his hands upon her body, her breasts, her buttocks and her genitals, moving and removing clothing and pinning her against the wall of the phone booth," the filing reads. "As Tyler was mauling and groping (Bellino), he was humping her pretending to have sex with (her). Others stood by outside the phone booth laughing and as passersby watched and witnessed, nobody in the entourage intervened."
Bellino alleges in the suit that "Tyler’s penis was erect, and it was evident to her as he rubbed it against her that he was not wearing underwear and wearing thin pants."
The young model allegedly freed herself by pulling on Tyler's hair and raising up her knee.
USA TODAY has reached out to Tyler's representatives and Bellino's attorney Jeffrey R. Anderson for comment.
Despite the shock of the assault, Bellino claims she remained with Tyler and the group because of transportation arrangements she had made with her friend. Upon returning to the Warwick Hotel, Bellino alleges Tyler assaulted her a second time when he "pinned (Bellino) against the wall, put his tongue down her throat and started humping (her), simulating sex."
Bellino was then allegedly invited to Tyler's hotel room, but she managed to escape with the help of a doorman who "flung" her into a cab that took her home.
According to the lawsuit, Bellino was hospitalized and medicated as a result of the alleged assaults and has suffered "great pain of mind and body, severe and permanent emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation, physical, personal (and) psychological injuries."
As for compensation, Bellino is seeking "an amount that will fully and fairly compensate" her for injuries and damages. She is also seeking a trial by jury.
Steven Tyler accused of sexual assault, battery by alleged teen victim
Bellino's lawsuit follows the allegations of Julia Misley, who sued Tyler in December 2022 for sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress when she was a teen in the '70s. Misley's suit was filed under a 2019 California law that gave adult victims of childhood sexual assault a three-year window to file lawsuits for decades-old instances of assault.
While the lawsuit didn’t name Tyler, Misley identified him by name in a statement, issued through the law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates. She has also recounted her experiences with Tyler in prior interviews, and Tyler discussed a relationship with a teenage girl in two books, published in 2011 and 1997.
The acknowledgments section of his memoir "Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?" thanks a "Julia Halcomb," which Misley has said is a reference to her.
The lawsuit alleged Tyler used his "role, status and power as a well-known musician and rock star to gain access to, groom, manipulate, exploit, sexually assault" Misley over a period of three years. As a result, she has suffered severe emotional injury as well as economic losses, the lawsuit said.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE & online.rainn.org).
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Contributing: The Associated Press