Blackstar

To the defendant, too, though But seriously, I'm sure her lawyers found that interview of Stern calling Axl and that's how they assumed the time it happened and mentioned that Axl was there to help Riki Rachtman get a job on MTV (because Axl mentioned in the interview that he was in NY with Riki for that reason). She didn't remember when it happened and she had mentioned another reason why Riki was there.

Riki Rachtman was at the GN'R show in Charlotte about 3 months ago

Yes.

I guess her lawyers looked for that Stern show and didn't find anything and that's why nothing about it is mentioned in the lawsuit. The date mentioned in the lawsuit though matches with the date Axl did his first interview with Stern on the phone (Stern called him in his hotel). Actually the full audio of that interview was published recently, but there was nothing about a "penthouse pet" and the other things she said in the Daily Mail and in her book.

I guess since Riki Rachtman is mentioned in the lawsuit, he will be subpoenaed, so a lot will depend on what he testifies (I doubt he'll confirm her allegations, though). They'll also rely on the other cases involving Axl that are mentioned in the lawsuit.

Her lawyers specialize in this kind of cases: https://mcolaw.com/

Yes, I'm sure. I haven't found anything about it before 2016. But it's been shared a few times after 2016, especially when "Little Michelle"'s claims were discussed.

This story was first mentioned in 2016 (it wasn't known before and no one had said anything) when she released her book and did a promo interview for it in The Daily Mail. The excerpt from her book is on page 2 of this thread where she said Axl apologized to her after it happened. There wasn't any reaction from Axl when the Daily Mail interview was published.

What story?

She said she apologized to her after the fact. He hasn't admitted it publicly.

I posted this link earlier about the Bob Dylan case. The woman withdrew the lawsuit (after destroying evidence?) and it was dismissed: https://www.billboard.com/pro/bob-dylan-abuse-accuser-drops-case-evidence-destruction/

But trial means a lot of publicity and usually neither side wants it, especially the one that is sued - and definitely I don't think Axl would want it. The persons that file lawsuits against celebrities with this kind of allegations, regardless of whether they are true or not, count on the fact that the celebrity would prefer to settle than go to trial.

Meanwhile GN'R released more footage from The Hollywood Bowl.

More footage from The Hollywood Bowl: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz93Xn5o4DN/

GN'R is on a break right now. Unless something more happens with this lawsuit (e.g. other women come forward with allegations) it will be quietly settled out of court or dismissed before they come back.

I'd really like to hear those some day, too. I think the riffs that Axl talked about were written in 1994 during some brief sessions that took place in parallel with the recording of the Snakepit album (those riffs were different than the ones Slash used for Snakepit and were rejected by Axl).

He was on and off with Erin then. The story that Slash and Steven have described in their books (although their accounts differ from each other) also happened in 1989 when the band had relocated in Chicago to write new music.

I think most of the time out of court settlements are reached during the process of pre-court depositions. So they go to trial only if an out of court settlement hasn't been reached (or the case hasn't been dismissed for another reason).

Yes, and for minors it was already extended anyway because the statute of limitations started counting from the day the victim reached adulthood (and, depending on the case, even beyond that, e.g. from the day when the alleged victim remembered being abused as a child).

It's temporary. It gives the opportunity to victims of sexual assault who normally wouldn't be able to sue because it happened way back in the past to file lawsuits. But after a certain date this window of opportunity ends and they won't be able to sue after that.

There is a time limit that is called statute of limitations (which varies from state to state in the US and from country to country - I think it's usually 5-10 years for these type of accusations) so she normally wouldn't be able to sue. However, the state of New York (I think California, too) passed a law that temporarily abolished the statute of limitations for a year, so that victims of sexual offenses that took place many years ago would be able to sue. New York originally did it only in the case of victims that were minors, so that the victims of Prince Andrew and the Catholic Church would be able to file lawsuits. But many celebrities were also sued within that temporary time window. Bob Dylan was sued by a woman claiming that he had molested her in the 60s when she was 12 and the lawsuit was filed on the day the law abolishing the statute of limitations expired. The Bob Dylan lawsuit was withdrawn and dismissed, btw: https://www.billboard.com/pro/bob-dylan-abuse-accuser-drops-case-evidence-destruction/ Then New York passed a similar law for adult survivors and Axl has been sued with that (and, like in the case of Dylan, on the day the law expired).

This story was first publicized shortly after the reunion was announced in 2016 and didn't generate any further negative publicity then. Sheila Kennedy was also interviewed in the "Look Away" documentary (that was about women being abused by rock stars) a couple of years ago, but the Steven Tyler story featured in it got the most attention. Now a lawsuit is a different thing and will definitely get more publicity (already has), but probably will be forgotten in a few days (like in the Bob Dylan case), unless there are allegations from other women and it snowballs.

I guess the part about the photo is just in case she had taken a picture with him.

Yes, it was last year I think by a woman who said she was 12 when it happened. The lawsuit was quite vague though, and fans found that Dylan was probably in England at the time the lawsuit said the incident happened in New York. I don't know what happened with that lawsuit - I'll look into it.

Yes, Axl was interviewed on Stern only twice: the first time Stern called Axl in his hotel in NY on the day of this birthday in February 1989; the second time was when Axl and Sebastian Bach called in from L.A. in the summer of 1990.