Nikki Sixx, bassist with 1980s rock band Mötley Crüe, has apologised over a story from the band’s autobiography The Dirt in which he admitted to “pretty much” raping a woman.
In the book, Sixx recounts an incident in which he tricked a woman into believing she was having sex with him in a dark closet at a party, when it was actually bandmate Tommy Lee. The woman reported being raped later that night in a separate incident as she attempted to hitchhike home. On hearing of the second incident, Sixx said that it made him realise “I had probably gone too far … At first, I was relieved, because it meant I hadn’t raped her. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I pretty much had. I was in a zone, though, and in that zone, consequences did not exist.”
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Sixx has somewhat retracted the story. “I don’t actually recall that story in the book beyond reading it,” he said. “I have no clue why it’s in there other than I was outta my head and it’s possibly greatly embellished or [I] made it up. Those words were irresponsible on my part. I am sorry.”
He said he did not recall the story because, when the book was being written in 2000, he was at “a really low point in my life. I had lost my sobriety and was using drugs and alcohol to deal with a disintegrating relationship which I still to this day regret how I handled. I honestly don’t recall a lot of the interviews with Neil,” referring to Neil Strauss, who wrote the book with the band.
He added: “There is a lot of horrible behaviour in the book. What I can tell you is that we all lived to regret a lot and learned from it. We own up to all our behaviour that hurt ourselves, our families, friends and any innocents around us.”
The Dirt has been adapted for a film biopic by Netflix, to be released on 22 March.
