Scream of the Butterfly

I don't spend much money on GNR. When I have spent money, they have usually delivered, so I don't feel foolish about it. The only thing that felt like a bit of a scam was the Nightrain club.

Since this question is brought up a lot in the thread and elsewhere, here's one article about the reasons many sexual assault victims wait years or even decades to come forward. Among other things it says, "the researchers find that 60.4 percent of women, on average, did not recognize their experience as rape even though it fit the definition". https://journalistsresource.org/health/sexual-assault-report-why-research/

Sheila's outfit is the same as well so almost certainly the same night.

The same woman is seen with Sheila in the other picture. Plus, I don't think they would use a picture of some random fan who didn't agree to have their picture used in this context. That would be rather insensitive. Maybe someone can tell from Axl's appearance whether it was taken in 1989.

Do you feel the same way when it comes to other serious crime such as murder? Should the person just get away with it if enough time has passed?

That's Sheila's friend Suzy, I believe. What does that have to do with what I said? I disagree, btw. Obviously it would be better not to wait 30 years, but I don't think there should be any statute of limitations when it comes to sexual assault.

In the documentary, Sheila said she was 22 when she and her friend saw Axl at the club (her exact words: "I think I was 22"). That's a bit strange, considering that in February 1989 she would have been 26, almost 27. I don't know what to make of it. Is she just bad at math?

I think after her marriage to another man had come to an end, and with GNR getting back together and Meegan getting back together with Slash, Erin started to feel nostalgic for her youth and for whatever good times she had with Axl. It's understandable, but hopefully for her own sake she's found a way to move on since then. Would you feel the same way if it was your sister or daughter? Would you advise them to get back together with an abusive ex-husband?

I always thought what happened to her was rape based on the original Daily Mail article in 2016. I imagine for Sheila herself it's been a long process to finally reach the same conclusion. Well said.

It was probably being used for recreational purposes as a methamphetamine-based medication. She didn't specifically claim that Obetrol/Adderall was an antipsychotic. This is the exact quote I assume: I’m in his bathroom. And there’s all kinds of medication laid out on a towel by the sink. There’s lithium, there’s Adderall, there’s all this SHIT. Since this time a lot of Rose’s mental health issues have come to light, but back then his main problem as it was understood by the public was that he was a fucked-up rock star who did fucked-up rock-star things. Which is just a hair different from being a person on anti-psychotic meds, or whatever these were. On top of that, I’m thinking, he’s high on coke, on champagne, on Scotch. He’s very high. He’s a fucking time bomb.

Maybe she was referring to Obetrol - the same drug by a different name. Obetrol preceded Adderall.

Already expired: Holcomb’s suit comes in the final days of California’s Child Victims Act, a 2019 piece of legislation that lifted the statute of limitations and granted a three-year lookback period for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to come forward with their allegations. The deadline to file a lawsuit is December 31, 2022. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/steven-tyler-sexual-assault-minor-lawsuit-1234653817/

Yes, I read the book excerpt, and that's exactly how she described the circumstances that immediately preceded the sex act.

I don't think consent is given or withdrawn freely in a situation where she's lying there naked, tied up, bleeding and crying, after just having been physically abused by him. It doesn't matter whether she said no. He should not have had sex with her in that situation. Period.

Erin and Stephanie can't sue him again after already agreeing to a settlement. The 15-year-old girl can't sue because the statute of limitations has run out. They could call her to testify and the fact that she is mentioned in this lawsuit suggests they are prepared to do just that.

I think it's safe to say this has been in the works for a while and was in no way brought about by the lawsuit against Fernando.

To be fair, he's been talking about his panic attacks and about his dogs ever since the old days. I even remember the names of the dogs he had in the 80s: Chester and Chloe.

He could still be part of the family even if no longer the manager. He could be the Prince Andrew of the GNR family. Not saying it's very likely to happen, but I wouldn't be surprised either way.

Regardless of what I said earlier, I also think there's still a realistic possibility that Fernando will lose his job because of this. Not because Axl (or Slash or Duff) is going to side with Kat, but because Fernando's actions could be seen as hurting the band. Think of Steven Adler. No one in the band had any moral high ground as far as drugs were concerned. That didn't stop them from firing Steven when his drug use reached the point where it was a hindrance to the band's operation. (Or so the story goes.) It's possible the same pragmatism still applies.

Kat is not a little boy, though. She's a woman and I don't think Axl's sympathies extend to adult female victims of sexual abuse. Remember the "Free Mike Tyson" T-shirt he used to wear on stage? It was right around the time he was doing interviews about having been sexually abused himself as a child. Yet he still sided with a convicted rapist in a case where the victim was an 18-year-old woman. I assume you know that Axl himself has also been accused of sexual and other type of abuse by a number of women. I hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if Fernando has Axl's full support regardless of whether Kat is able to win her case.

I take it this means that Axl did know what was going on or at least Kat had tried to tell him. "any principal Lebeis was the proxy and agent for" = Axl?

I think just the opposite. I think the song being attached to The General is leading people astray about Monsters. You think he's calling his mother "baby"? To me that's strange.

Remember Axl's comment on stage a few years back about how Stephanie once said to him, "Thank you for the gift of your soul"? Maybe that's where the title Soul Monster originally came from. At any rate, I think Monsters is mainly about his relationship/breakup with Stephanie and not a message to his mother or stepfather. Sure enough, some of the same feelings that you felt as a child might re-emerge in a breakup situation, but other than that I don't think it's about child abuse.

I think the lyrics convey the experience of a child who is being punished/beaten. According to Axl, his stepdad was very strict and beat him constantly, so I'm guessing that was the inspiration. I don't think there's anything about the lyrics to suggest it's about child molestation specifically. Lemmy already wrote that song: "Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me".

Probably superstition, e.g. he fears that a mirror might steal his soul or that a demon might enter his body through a mirror. Axl's infamous for his spiritual beliefs.