24 Musicians Whose Legacies Could Face A #MeToo Reckoning

Published January 30, 2018
Updated November 8, 2018

Some of the biggest stars in music are sexual predators and pedophiles. Most don't even deny it. Some even wrote songs about it.

Lori Maddox And Jimmy Page
Mick Jagger And Anita Pallenberg
Steven Tyler With Underage Girls
David Bowie And An Underage Girl
24 Musicians Whose Legacies Could Face A #MeToo Reckoning
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The #MeToo movement has shaken things up in Hollywood. Major names have fallen, and some people we once considered role models and heroes have been exposed as predators. It’s a massive cultural change that’s rewriting the face of the film industry -- so why is the music industry getting off seemingly scot-free?

As much as sexual harassment has been an unspoken problem in the film industry, it’s one that’s been actively and openly talked about in the music industry. Women have come forward calling some of the most celebrated music legends everything from pedophiles to predators to rapists and most of them didn’t even deny it. Some of them even wrote songs about it.

It’s not something we like to acknowledge; the music industry is full of Harvey Weinsteins. It’s full of people who prey on young girls and use their power to sexually abuse them. That’s not Rock ‘n Roll’s dirty secret – that is its loud and proud anthem.

For some reason, though, we keep talking about David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin as inspirations without mentioning the underage “Baby Groupies” they used for sex. We talk about Elvis without mentioning the time he got caught teaching a 14-year-old girl to “kiss in a grown-up way,” shortly before marrying another girl the same age.

We ignore that time Marvin Gaye held a knife to his wife’s neck or forced her to pleasure his friends, or that time Chuck Berry was caught paying a 14-year-old child prostitute, or that time Steven Tyler snorted cocaine while his 16-year-old girlfriend had an abortion for his baby.

Maybe it’s the timing. Maybe it’s the music. Maybe it’s the fact that nobody’s pressed them hard enough. But the truth is that most of our favorite songs were written by sexual predators and for some reason, we’re letting them get away with it.


Next, check out this gallery of Rock 'n Rolls' often underage groupies or find out just how pervy rock classics really are.

author
Mark Oliver
author
Mark Oliver is a writer and teacher, and father whose work has appeared on The Onion's StarWipe, Yahoo, and Cracked.
editor
Mark Oliver
editor
Mark Oliver is a writer and teacher, and father whose work has appeared on The Onion's StarWipe, Yahoo, and Cracked.