Key Takeaways
- Steven Tyler has reportedly asked a Los Angeles court to block any mention of Julia Holcomb’s 1975 abortion at his upcoming civil sexual abuse trial, arguing it happened after she turned 18 in Massachusetts and is unrelated to the California claims.
- His lawyers have reportedly said that if the 1975 abortion is allowed into evidence, they will seek to introduce details of Holcomb’s second abortion in 1979 to challenge her claims of emotional distress and offer an alternative explanation for her mental health issues.
- Holcomb, who has accused Tyler of sexually abusing and grooming her from age 16 and has spoken publicly on the anti-abortion circuit, filed her suit under California’s Child Victims Act; Tyler denies all allegations, and trial is set to begin August 31 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Steven Tyler has reportedly made a pre-trial move to withhold abortion evidence from jurors as his civil sexual abuse case heads to court later this month.
According to TMZ, the Aerosmith frontman filed legal documents asking the court to exclude any reference to a 1975 abortion from trial proceedings. His legal team argues the procedure took place in Massachusetts after accuser Julia Holcomb had already turned 18 and that the procedure has no connection to the sexual assault allegations that Holcomb has made.
If the court allows the 1975 abortion into evidence, Tyler’s lawyers will reportedly seek permission to counter with details about a second abortion Holcomb underwent in 1979, when she was pregnant with another man's child.
In their filing, Tyler's attorneys wrote that "the fact that [Julia] voluntarily underwent a second abortion is probative as to the emotional distress she alleges she suffered from the 1975 abortion, and because [Julia] admits both abortions were traumatic, provides a possible alternative cause of her alleged mental condition."
Holcomb has maintained that her 1975 abortion was "extremely traumatic and contributed to the emotional distress damages she is claiming in this matter," per the filing. Tyler's legal team say the later procedure should be admitted "to put everything in context."
His team also points to Holcomb's work on the anti-abortion speaking circuit, noting she has addressed "her regret of undergoing an abortion generally" without tying those remarks specifically to the 1975 event. The judge has not yet ruled on either request.
Holcomb, also known as Julia Misley, filed her lawsuit in 2022 under a window opened by California's Child Victims Act of 2019. The suit alleges Tyler began sexually abusing her when she was 16, starting in 1973, and that he used "his role, status, and power as a well-known musician and rock star to gain access to groom, manipulate, exploit, and sexually assault" her over a three-year span. Around 1974, Tyler became her legal guardian, which allowed Holcomb to travel with the rocker across state lines while he toured.
In January 2026, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Patricia A. Young allowed the California-based claims to proceed while dismissing allegations tied to alleged abuse in Oregon, Washington, and Massachusetts.
Tyler, who turned 78 in March, denies all of Holcomb's allegations. Trial begins August 31 at Los Angeles County Superior Court.
