The Aerosmith lead singer was also accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl in the mid-1970s.
75-year-old Steven Tyler is facing allegations of sexual assault against a former teen model in a new lawsuit that was filed on Thursday in New York. The allegations date back to around 1975, when the plaintiff, Jeanne Bellino, was 17-years-old.
The Victim Felt “Helpless and Panicked” Following The Alleged Incident
As details emerge from the lawsuit, Bellino was signed with a children’s modeling agency the summer of that year. She traveled from Queens to Manhattan with a group of other local young models. Bellino and her friend planned a trip together that included a meeting with Aerosmith after a weekend fashion show at the Warwick Hotel.
Following Bellino and her friend’s encounter with Tyler and the other members of Aerosmith, the lawsuit claims that they strolled down 6th Avenue in Manhattan with “around a half a dozen people who appeared to be bandmates and other people affiliated with Aerosmith.”
At some point during the walk, Bellino supposedly made a comment that seemed to upset Tyler, who reacted by pushing her into a 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,” according to the lawsuit. “As Tyler was mauling and groping Plaintiff, he was humping her pretending to have sex with Plaintiff.”
The “Janie’s Got A Gun” singer, who was 27 at the time, allegedly violated then under-aged Bellino who weighed only 115 pounds, the lawsuit states.
“Tyler forcefully inserted his tongue into Plaintiff’s mouth, without her consent. 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. Plaintiff fought back and struggled to be free but Tyler restrained her.”
The lawsuit also details how Bellino grabbed the back of Tyler’s head, yanked his hair and raised her knee in an attempt to fight back. After this distracted Tyler, Bellino ran out of the booth. This was allegedly her first sexual experience and a violent one.
Bellino wanted to leave. The lawsuit says she felt “helpless and panicked” but because of the transportation arrangements she made with her friend, she had no choice but to stay with the group who later went to the Warwick Hotel.
Steven Tyler Allegedly Assaulted The Victim Twice In The Same Night
Once there, Tyler “again pinned Plaintiff against the wall, put his tongue down her throat and started humping Plaintiff, simulating sex.”
According to the lawsuit, no one intervened during the alleged assault.
“Plaintiff again resisted and pulled his hair, getting her right arm free and he whispered in her ear, ‘I’m going in my room to do something quick,’” the lawsuit stated.
After Tyler left the room, Bellino wept in the lobby until someone called the front desk, summoning her to Tyler’s room. According to the lawsuit, Bellino was supposedly “paralyzed” with fear. She shook her head and fled out the door. A doorman “flung” her into a cab and ordered the driver to step on it. The lawsuit then states that Bellino immediately told her sister about the events when she finally made it home.
Because the alleged incident with Tyler, Bellino’s lawsuit claims that she has “suffered and will continue to suffer, great pain of mind and body, severe and permanent emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation, physical, personal & psychological injuries.”
At one point the former model was hospitalized and placed on medication following the assault. She still takes medication “to cope with the sexual assault and has suffered long term physical injury associated with the trauma.”
Bellino seeks “an amount that will fully and fairly compensate” her for the “injuries and damages” she claims she had to carry for years. She is also requesting a trial by jury.
Unfortunately, this is not the first sexual assault allegation to emerge against the Aerosmith lead singer. Just last year, Rolling Stone wrote an article about a lawsuit involving plaintiff Julia Misley (Holcomb).
She alleged that Tyler had persuaded her mother to let him have guardianship over her when she was 16. Beginning in 1973, the two of them lived together and had a sexual relationship for three years. An Aerosmith spokesperson was hesitant to respond to requests for comment. Eventually, the allegations were all denied and have since been denied.
Neither Steven Tyler or his attorney have commented at this time.