In 1965, Bob Dylan was already a massively popular and successful folk music artist and he was just about to “go electric” and defy the folk-music conventions. He was probably still living full-time in New York, and his thing with Joan Baez was winding down. This is the setting for a new complaint being brought against Dylan. According to the civil complaint, Dylan is being accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl at the Chelsea Hotel in 1965.
Bob Dylan sexually abused a 12-year-old girl at his Chelsea Hotel apartment in 1965 when he was around 24 years old, a new lawsuit alleges. The Manhattan Supreme Court civil complaint, filed Friday night by a woman identified in court papers as J.C., claims that she was “a victim of one or more criminal sex acts.”
“Between April and May of 1965 the defendant, Dylan, exploited his status as a musician by grooming J.C. to gain her trust and to obtain control over her as part of his plan to sexually molest and abuse J.C.,” the lawsuit alleges. Court papers further claim that Dylan used his fame to “provide J.C. with alcohol and drugs, and sexually abused her multiple times.”
The suit also alleges that Dylan “befriended and established an emotional connection with the plaintiff, J.C., to lower her inhibitions with the object of sexually abusing her.” In addition to the alleged grooming, alcohol, and drugs, she claims there were “threats of physical violence.” J.C. was left “emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day,” court papers state.
Dylan, now 80, has denied the allegations. “The 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended,” a spokesman for Dylan said in a statement.
Although J.C.’s claims involve alleged abuse taking place nearly 60 years ago, she was able to file suit against Dylan under New York state’s Child Victims Act. The legislation, which was passed in 2019, provided a one-year window where victims of childhood sexual abuse could file suit against their attacker — regardless of when the abuse took place. This window was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline to file suits under this act closed at midnight Friday.
Bob Dylan has never – to my knowledge – been accused of anything like this before. That being said, his accuser has the right to be heard and listened to, and her complaint makes it clear that she’s been dealing with trauma for decades. I’m very curious about how this case moves forward and how Dylan plans to vigorously defend himself. Does he even remember that time in his life?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.
I don’t have an emotional attachment to Dylan or his music, so I think I am unbiased. Well, other than the fact that I hate men. But what I will say is that during that time period, I think this was very common. Not to insinuate it’s uncommon now, but it was more accepted within the artistic community. That includes Hollywood and of course the music industry. I doubt any of them ever would fear consequences because there just were none. So I personally would not find this difficult to believe. Considering how much time has passed, I doubt we’ll ever know…unless more women come forward.
I remember this issue being mentioned in the Surviving R Kelly doc. That there’s a long history of young girls being sexually exploited in the music industry.
I think Jewel used to run around with him when she was a teen after her first album
I thought that was Sean penn.
She toured with Dylan. I heard her mention that on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.
agreed – this is totally believable given the sexual mores of the time, the normalization of baby groupies in the music industry and the fledgling nature of statutory rape laws and modern concepts of consent in the 1960s. not a defence obv but an important context that makes this more likely to be true than not.
read an interesting article on the history of these laws (sunypress.edu/pdf/60840.pdf) – up to the 70s and 80s, many legislators only took cases seriously if they involved forcible/violent assault on victims of “chaste character” who could prove they fought for their lives. they totally overlooked cases of coercion/manipulation and allowed ignorance of a victim’s age as an acceptable defence. and even years after the age of consent was raised from 12 to 16-18, more than 1 in 10 US brides in 1970 were minors, and most of those married adult men. the culture was sick.
“But what I will say is that during that time period, I think this was very common.”
This. Like you said, still common now. But in those days, it was slightly different in that it was not even particularly hidden. The whole thing with the “baby groupies”. You can find many photos of these young teens with those stars. And SO many rock stars were a part of it. Bowie included and that one absolutely kills me. I tend to not comment on it as I can’t sort my thoughts from my beliefs and my heart.
This girl was 12. My kid is 11.5, and just sprouted boobs. It’s horrific.
Never being publicly accused before means nothing. Women and girls and other marginalized people by and large do not report. They know the system won’t help and they will only be re-traumatized and torn apart publicly.
It’s extremely rare for a false accusation in these cases. Studies and statistics show that. The most likely case is that this woman is telling the truth.
I would have sworn he was accused of this before, but the accusation never gained traction.
Yup. I grew up listening to Dylan, and while I’m not a fan myself the nostalgia makes me want to believe the best of him. But when I read this yesterday, I couldn’t find anything implausible about it. It just feels like it could be true. The 60s, the music industry, a man who by all accounts thinks pretty highly of himself, it all tracks. Even Dylan’s most fervent fans can’t possibly deny this is the sort of thing that happened with no consequences back then (and minimal consequences now when powerful men are involved, who TF are we kidding?)
My husband told me that a reporter has already investigated this, determining that Dylan was overseas for most of the beginning of that year. I’ll have to get him to tell me the source. I have no feelings one way or another for Dylan, but I’m interested to see how this turns out if indeed it can be proven he was not near NYC during that timeframe.
I think it may be this thread: https://twitter.com/venetianblonde/status/1427386653941936128
I read that also, so I am questioning the accusation. He was on a different continent at the time she said all this took place.
yes, I heard this on the radio this AM.
I also believe she deserves to be heard and to have her day in court, but I have to say that I do doubt her story a bit. I’m not going to say “why now?!” or “why’d she wait so long?!” because we know women hold back for fear of being believed.
my doubts come from A) the reports that he was in CA and Europe during the time she says it happened (BUT! we also know that women’s memories associated with trauma like this can be faulty, timeline-wise) and B) as noted above that Dylan has never been accused or suspected of anything like this before, in all of his 80 years of life and 60+ in the biz.
BUT! none of these people who we now know to be abusers were “accused of anything like this before!” until THEY WERE. there will always be a “first accuser” and he/she shouldn’t be doubted simply because they’re the first one. eh, I dunno. she could absolutely be telling the truth. as Darla said, we might never know.
Not speaking in favor of either party in this, but…how do you go about proving something like this? Like…after 5 decades, there’s not much proof left…Does anyone have experiences with cases like these?
My understanding from reading investigative journalists’ articles on historic allegations is that they ask the victim if they ever told anyone at the time. A best friend? A relative? Have they told anyone over the past 50 years? A boyfriend/girlfriend? Spouse? Therapist? Then they speak to these people. Get their accounts. How do they match up? Do other aspects of their accounts hold up? It makes me wonder about the victims who do not care to share the information with others. Who kept it to themselves. How can they prove it? Basically, if god forbid this happens to you, tell people you trust, take photos, keep a diary and write down everything, see a doctor if you can. You don’t have to do anything with it now, you don’t have to press charges, but if you ever want to, it’s there.
theres a database of his concerts online, and apart from that, you can nearly follow dylans whole life via newspapers from the early sixties on, if you want to do the work. it does seem that he wasnt in new york city on the dates she alleges, but perhaps we will learn more.
I mean. Of course it’s most likely true. This was around the time as our culture worshipped other “artists” who were known to have raped under age girls. Polanski anyone?
I believe her.
And….. this one broke me.
I own every album Dylan has ever put out. (excepting a few of the official bootlegs)
And he is PROLIFIC.
But it is probably true.
And i read a comment above about it being a different time, not uncommon, etc. (which is totally true- though the Horatio Sanz and Jeff Ross things remind us 15 yos are apparently still fair game Today)
TWELVE.
She was twelve.
This breaks my heart.
This one is like the Monty Hall problem of ethical dilemmas, but instead of a prize behind one door, there’s pain behind all three.
I was on that same train…
Until someone pointed out that Dylan was out off the country on a tour that was filmed and cut into a documentary.
I was horrified that this pillar of the music community did this and then it brought up all the mixed feelings around Bowie and the the “baby groupie” era. But Dylan can independently prove he wasn’t there. Maybe the reporting survivor got her years wrong or there something else going on memory wise here. Either way it’s challenging my belief on “believe all women” when he can prove months worth of alibi.
Planes existed then too, and he’s owned a private one since the 60s (not sure of exact date) so I’d say the evidence is more that he was one place for most of the time, not that he wasn’t at another place, as well.
Since there are allegations of grooming it could also be that some of it happened through phone calls or letters. He doesn’t need to be on location for all of this.
IMO an adult woman coming forward with claims of childhood abuse from a celebrity is doing so because she can now. Maybe she’s recently found the words, or courage, or is finally fed up.
ariel, if its going to break you, you ought to look into it a little. you can look at the database of his concerts online. it seems that he was barely in nyc at the time. i am hoping it isnt true, but as a life-long fan of his work i am not going to say it couldnt be true. fame and drugs are a pretty toxic combo, and can create monsters. i’ve only witnessed a little addiction to serious drugs in my life, but drugs can turn even the soundest character into a disgusting self-involved animal.
The victim says that the abuse occurred between April and May 1965. Dylan was on tour in England from 26 April until 10 May, and that is well documented in a film (Don’t Look Back) that was produced at the time. The dates are a little fuzzier for the rest of May, but it had been believed before these allegations came forward, that he went from there to vacation in Europe until early June.
I’m not saying don’t believe the woman, but I am saying examine her statements within the chronology that she has provided. Maybe she has her year mixed up, or the months?
I also think that it is important to note that the law that allowed her to press charges so long after the act also expired the day that she filed her suit. There are many reasons as to why that delay may have occurred, and they, as well as any rebuttal Dylan puts forward, must be examined.
You sound like Dylan’s defense attorney making opening arguments. Yes by all means the alleged victims delay in filing must be examined.
Whatever we do, don’t look at the spastics or how damaging this has been to a 12 year old girl. Wondering if we should “examine” why he was alone with a 12 year old girl long enough to be accused of grooming her.
Just asking questions.
Sorry, I should have been clearer about which part of the delay should be examined. The NY State Child Victims Act had a two year window from 2019 until Friday 13 August (the day that JC filed) which allowed victims older than 55 to pursue allegations of abuse. The delay which concerns me is that two year period. Indeed, NY law didn’t allow persons older than 23 the opportunity to make a claim, so I don’t think that the time before 2019 is even delay.
I don’t doubt that child abuse is damaging, and I am not sure why my original post gives you the idea that I am ok with it.
there’s no mystery about the delay. Part of the reason many of these cases delay until the last moment is that a plaintiff’s attorney is calculating that it could be valuable to the defendant to settle before there is a public record filing. During the past two years, her attorney was probably trying to negotiate a settlement of the claims with Dylan’s attorneys.
@Chaine – If her attorney was trying to negotiate a settlement, Dylan’s lawyers would’ve simply pulled up his very well-documented whereabouts during the period she alleged this happened, and shut this whole thing down before it went anywhere. I’m absolutely NOT saying that she’s a liar, but the consequence of the delay is that, even if she’s telling the truth, she will most likely be shut down anyway because apparently no one had time to take so much as a cursory glance at Dylan’s schedule and say, “that’s impossible, are you sure about the timeframe?”. I understand that checking the dates herself before going to a lawyer might’ve been too traumatic, but she’s almost certainly screwed her case.
What this tells me is that he wasn’t in England for almost all of April and for a lot of May.
I will just say that anyone who wants to defend him, be careful. Because IF this accusation is true you can trust there are more out there. And those women likely don’t want to bring this energy into their lives at this point. But call this woman a liar, and that will rankle. That’s what causes other victims to come forward. Time and time again. I know that’s what would make me come forward, and I would never want this in my life. I would likely keep my mouth shut. Until I saw another victim being called a liar.
Thank you Darla. It is painful to see someone coming forward and treated like absolute dirt, like her trauma and her feelings don’t even matter, in people’s desperate attempt to defend an artist.
We can all see what she’s already going through, and only imagine what she has been through that prompted her to finally speak up.
I for one salute her courage and wish her so much healing.
I can’t respond to your last comment explaining more what you meant, so I’m doing it here- For me (and I’m clearly not the only person who read your comment as a myriad of defenses of Dylan) your focus on the alleged victims delay along with suggesting he wasn’t around during that time period read as attack motive/timing instead of accusation.
Someone who isn’t biased would be concerned with the damage done to her and wanting more info, perhaps, not all: ‘here are the holes in her claim and they should be examined.’
I’m sure you know that many victims do not have even the year correct for their abuse, which is often tied in their memory to certain events rather than a diary like chronological order. This is in fact so common that it is actually an argument in her favor, as traumatic abuse impairs the memory.
For justice to be served, what you call “holes” have to be examined, otherwise anyone can be accused of anything, with a minimum of proof, and that creates a whole different strata of victims. And like it or not, a study of possible dates is a lot more acceptable than a “did you really mean no/what were you wearing” line of cross examination which does NOT belong in ANY sexual assault trial, ever.
Dylan was on tour in northwestern USA/Canada at the end of April 1965, and from there, toured UK until early May. That is well documented contemporaneously. Less well documented, but still contemporaneous, are accounts of his vacation in France and Portugal for the rest of May 1965. So maybe JC has the year wrong. But the spring/summer months of 1964 and 1966 are just as well documented with tour dates, as are other seasons.
In fact, the only non-documented period of Dylan’s post-fame life is after his motorcycle accident in July 1966, when he just disappeared from public life. If the assault occurred at the Chelsea then, that would mean that JC was one of the few people who ever saw him outside of his home in Woodstock. Dylan’s whereabouts was a big mystery at the time (still is actually). No staff or other guests of the Chelsea hotel have ever come forward to say that Dylan was there after the July 1966 accident, and more likely than not, there would have been incentives for “Dylan-spotting” during that timeframe.
Bias swings two ways. But you know that.
“I’m sure you know that many victims do not have even the year correct for their abuse, which is often tied in their memory to certain events rather than a diary like chronological order. ”
This! My first thought on seeing how long ago this allegedly happened was “How would the victim even remember enough of the dates/facts this many decades later?” *I* can’t remember things clearly from the past 2 years. I am sure she remembers her abuse just fine, (sadly) but to go to court and need to provide the details on dates/locations/conversations? That seems like it would be hard for anyone, and certainly impossible for me.
I was abused as a child by young family members of a woman who was babysitting me. I can’t even begin to guess how old I was. The one thing I can remember is that susequently, I BEGGED my mother not to bring me there again. And I can remember which apartment we lived in when I was doing that begging. So I can almost say with certainty that i was at least 6, as we moved into that apartment halfway through 1st grade. But I don’t know if the abuse happened before or after we moved, and we stayed there through 7th grade. I think by 4th, I was not being dropped at any sitters house. So in a court, the best I could do is say “sometime between kindergarten and fourth grade.” I don’t think that would hold much water in court. But maybe this woman in this case will just feel better for having taken ANY action. Regardless of what comes of it?
It is possible that she mixed up the dates, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Also true is that he was splitting his time between the US and UK, so her dates may not be that inaccurate. That would be the “ideal” circumstance for a situation like that: On and off again, “See you when I get back; don’t tell anyone, this is our little secret,”
Even back then, planes and air travel were a thing. It seems odd to me to argue that he never came back to the US in that time. He certainly could have.
So… he was NOT on tour in England for most of April and possibly much of May. I’m not sure that’s a rock solid defense.
I’m curious about that too. He was in London for what amounts to 14 days-plus a few days maybe. Between the 2 months there are 61 days.
Because of the time period, this could be true, lots of drugs, lots of “free love” “hippy” kids being taken advantage of.
Yes, David Lodge makes an observation about this on his book “Changing Places”, I think it was through a female character that said that in the end, free love meant women were obliged to have sex with anyone that wanted them because otherwise they would be seem as stuck up.
I absolutely believe this could be true. It came out during his separation and divorce from Sara that he had been a horrific abuser. Like really horrible domestic violence. His children have spoken about it before too, especially Jakob.
I never knew this. I don’t follow him because I never cared for his music. So this information would not bode well then.
I don’t recall seeing this. Jakob says his dad was affectionate.
When did Jakob Dylan talk about his father being abusive? I feel like that’s something I’d remember.
this is what he said in 2005 in the NY Times:
“Yes,” he said, taking a breath, “he was affectionate. When I was a kid, he was a god to me for all the right reasons. Other people have put that tag on him in some otherworldly sense. I say it as any kid who admired his dad and had a great relationship with him. He never missed a single Little League game I had. He’s collected every home-run ball I ever hit. And he’s still affectionate to me.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/10/arts/dylan-breaks-silence-on-my-dad.html
What’s your source for this? I’ve never seen anything that said domestic abuse was an issue with Dylan and his ex-wife or children.
I never liked him, but after reading about the way he treated Edie Sedgwick, c’mon, abuser 101 (like most men in her life, unfortunately).
To people here defending Dylan because it’s documented that he was in the UK during the months of the alleged abuse, STOP IT.
Psychologists have studied trauma for decades. Research has shown how victims dealing with trauma struggle with memory and specific dates of events. It’s how the body and mind cope (or try to, anyways). Those details, however unclear they are, do not take away from the rape itself. Even if this victim has the months mixed up, it doesn’t take away from her rape by Dylan.
As I wrote above, it actually strengthens the case that she was abused. Memory is impacted by severe trauma.
Yes exactly! It’s so important that more people know this. It affects how juries and judges see victims in courts.
I believe her. If you grew up in the 60s/70s, a significant proportion of adult men then considered anyone who was old enough to have breasts fair game. When I look back now, I recognize that some of what I perceived as kindly interest from adult men when I was in say, junior high school, was actually probably grooming, and that many things that were said to me by adult men that I didn’t understand at the time were actually crass come-ons.
And all you have to do is listen to the lyrics that came out of that time period. Many of them reflect that very attitude.
Same @Chaine I’m still processing that stuff decades later, and I’m near 50.
I have so many thoughts about this. In lieu of typing them all out and frustrating myself, I’m just going to say that this does not come as a surprise. Even if you take into account the permissive attitudes toward sex and the extent to which being a groupie was normalized (and romanticized), the fact remains that Dylan was the adult in this situation. The girl was TWELVE at the time. Twelve! He knew what he was doing.
I don’t know wether this was true or not, and I’m in no way defending him, but have you guys ever read any groupie momoir? Not even a groupie, Marianne Faithfull’s? This was common behaviour at the time, from all musicians.
It was, but that doesn’t make it any less of a crime or any less traumatic for the victim. And she was *twelve.* Anyone with a shred of decency would say, “Hey, I know you think this is cool and fun, but this is not your scene. Go home.” Dylan was 24 at the time, more than old enough to know better. Marianne was 19 or 20 when she took up with Mick, so even though she was a groupie, she was not an underage one. Ditto Pamela Des Barres. They were young women, not minors.
Oh, I realize I wasn’t clear enough: I meant that it wasn’t just Dylan, that every musician of the time was this gross and horrible. I’m sure that many did this as it was seen as a common thing, in no way I support or justify this kind of behaviour.
As for Marianne (she was a singer herself, let’s not reduce her to groupie) she talked a bit about how musicians got away mistreating and abusing their fans, Jim Morrison for instance.
I myself am a survivor of a traumatic childhood sexual attack, but I’m astounded that many readers here don’t need anything but an accusation before convicting a man mentally. The fact that others were involved with young groupies, or that the music business was rife with it, is not enough. I resent that any questioning of the circumstances is interpreted as anti-women, hostile, or denying a woman’s trauma. I don’t know if he’s innocent or guilty, but neither do you, unless new info has come out. Perhaps, as one reader suggested, there will be other clues, such as her confiding in a friend or counselor, another person coming forward, etc.
As a fellow survivor, I’m saying that convicting a man “mentally” is not a thing. It’s just not.
Bob Dylan is a wealthy white man with plenty of privilege. No one is infringing upon his rights by believing this young woman. She has the right to be heard and not silenced.
Bob Dylan’s rights will not be infringed upon. I guarantee it. His high-priced lawyers will make sure of that. You know who is NOT guaranteed a fair shot in this situation? Her.
BRAVO
Agreed. Thank you @Sigmund
Good point.
It’s ok, Nikki. Your feelings are valid, and you are entitled to them. With accusations so heavy, I mostly like to stay out of it. Send love and light to both parties and pray that justice is served (even though in our justice system it is often not). I think with these issues emotions run high and we have to remember that most women are telling the truth about sexual abuse (most, not all), and that false accusations are also very common about crimes in general (worked in college on overturning bas convictions that landed people in jail, mostly minorities). In these cases, I don’t believe gossip is really appropriate or right, and perhaps mods should consider posting the story, but turning off the comments as they can be triggering to a host of people for a host of reasons.
First time commenter here and lawyer. I’ve read that her lawyer can prove they were together at the NY hotel – so despite his UK/European trips we should not be so quick to dismiss her. In any event if this gets to court this will be addressed.
So sad if this is true, and I’m leaning towards yes it probably is. It is well documented that beloved musicians throughout the 60s and 70s abused young girls and this probably still happens on a larger scale than we’re aware of. Drugs and alcohol just amplify toxic masculinity.
I hate to quote the DM, but somebody else quoted “Venetian Blonde” on a Twitter thread as hardcore evidence, so here’s what the victim’s lawyer told the DM today:
“Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour had two-week hiatus between US gigs and his last performance in London was on May 10 – ample time to return to NYC’s Chelsea Hotel, where he’s accused of sexually abusing a woman when she was 12.”
“A woman, identified only as J.C., has accused Bob Dylan of sexually abusing her in New York City between April and May 1965 when she was 12 years old/ Reports cast doubt on the woman’s claims after the singer’s tour schedule showed he would have been away on tour at the time. But lawyers for J.C. pointed to a two-week gap between shows in April when Dylan would have allegedly returned to New York.
‘The schedule is consistent with her claims,’ the lawyer told DailyMail.com. ‘There’s no doubt she was in the Chelsea Hotel with Dylan during that period.
Dylan is accused of grooming and plying the girl, now 68, with drugs and alcohol before allegedly sexually abusing her. The suit claims some of the incidents took place at Dylan’s apartment in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. A spokesperson for the singer-songwriter, 80, on Monday slammed the ’56-year-old claim’ as ‘untrue.’