This content includes disturbing details regarding the lawsuit which may be triggering to some.
Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee has been accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit filed on December 15. Lee is alleged to have “forcibly groped, kissed and penetrated the plaintiff with his fingers,” as well as forced her to perform oral copulation.
The civil complaint is based on an incident that took place on a helicopter ride from San Diego to Van Nuys, California in 2003. The plaintiff — who anonymously filed as Jane Doe — was allegedly invited by Lee’s personal helicopter pilot, David Martz, to take the ride; Doe and Martz became friendly through the plaintiff’s work as a bank teller. When she was offered a private flight in his helicopter, she accepted the invitation, taking it as a “friendly gesture,” per the complaint.
According to the plaintiff, she hadn’t been informed that Lee would be passenger of the ride as well. On the day of the tour, the lunch plan was cancelled at the last minute. Doe said was told that Martz needed to take Lee to Van Nuys and that the trip would take no longer than 35 to 40 minutes. He then told the woman to hop in, she claims.
Almost immediately after taking flight, Doe alleged Martz and Lee consumed alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine.
“Martz handed plaintiff a drink, but she did not drink it,” the documents read.
Martz then asked Doe to “come up to the cockpit and sit with Lee.” Although she declined as there wasn’t any room, Lee encouraged plaintiff to sit on his lap “so that she would not miss the view, which was best from the cockpit.” According to the complaint, the plaintiff “felt immense pressure from both Martz and Lee to come to the cockpit, so she acquiesced.”
“At one point, Lee penetrated plaintiff with his fingers while fondling her breasts,” the lawsuit stated. “Lee then pulled down his pants and attempted to force plaintiff’s head toward his genitals. By this point, plaintiff was in tears, but she had nowhere to go — she was trapped with little mobility to leave the cockpit.”
The documents state that Martz “merely watched” the alleged assault, smiling. After dropping Lee off in Van Nuys, the plaintiff said they flew back “in silence” to San Diego.
Doe is now requesting damages for sexual assault, gender violence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence, as well as a jury trial. The lawsuit names Mayhem Touring, of which Lee was president and owner at the time, Tommy Lee Inc, A Natural High Helicopters, and Social Helicopters — which Martz was owner at the time — as defendants. Martz died in 2015, according to the lawsuit.
None of the co-defendants have commented on the allegations.
“Those feelings, coupled with the fame of Lee and the climate of the music industry at the time (in which rock-n-roll star like Lee thrived and gained even further celebrity from salacious and hedonistic conduct) led her to believe that nothing would come from reporting Lee and Martz’s conduct to local police authorities,” the lawsuit stated, regarding the allegations unveiled 20 years later.
The plaintiff said she believes Martz and Lee “had a history of engaging in indecent and illegal conduct on Martz’s helicopter.”
The Guardian reported that Martz was detained on suspicion of flying under the influence, but a sobriety test was inconclusive. He lost his pilot’s license three times, including after one occasion where he had oral sex with an adult film star while flying a helicopter.
Lee, on the other hand, was jailed for six months in 1998 for physically assaulting his wife, Pamela Anderson.
2023 has seen an increase in sexual assault allegations and cases against celebrities of entertainment industry. Those facing accusations include rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, actor Jamie Foxx, Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, and actor/comedian Russell Brand.
