Lenny Kravitz Not Calling Unwanted Sexual Encounter as Teen Assault: 'I Wasn't Traumatized'

"I lived, and I learned," Kravitz said

Lenny Kravitz is opening up about a sexual encounter he experienced as a teen, while denying that what happened to him was assault.

In a cover story interview with Esquire published Wednesday, the “American Woman” singer, 59, talked about topics such as the upcoming release of his first studio album in five years, a tour to follow, and the people he admires.

The rocker also expanded on a situation that happened to him when he was younger that changed the way he viewed relationships later on in his life.

“It was an experience and a lesson. Everything doesn’t have to be so…” Kravitz began when asked about an unwanted sexual act that he previously discussed in his 2020 memoir, Let Love Rule.

After taking a beat, he continued.

“I’m not saying that there aren’t things that deserve to be addressed — maybe somebody would say it should have been addressed and that it was, whatever, but that’s the time it was,” the “Fly Away” artist said. “I lived, and I learned. I wasn’t traumatized.”

Related: Lenny Kravitz Brings Back His Mega-Viral Big Scarf to Launch His TikTok Account on First Day of Fall

As mentioned by Esquire, Kravitz’s book sees the Grammy winner explain that the incident happened when his parents were out of town and he was being watched by a friend of the family. While he was lying in his bed, a friend that the sitter had invited over entered his room, got under the covers with him, and touched him without permission.

Once in his adult years, The Hunger Games actor realized what had happened to him as a teenager had lasting results.

“I wasn’t interested in convincing or coercing women,” he wrote in the book, per the outlet. “I’d been coerced myself and didn’t like it.”

Kravitz also shared with Esquire that there were instances when he wasn’t an upstanding partner in his romantic relationships. He shared that he didn’t always have the best luck “being confident that this is the person for me, always thinking something else may be better.”

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Reflecting on his past lovers, he added, “I put some people through some hard times."

Despite his previous actions, the Shotgun Wedding talent hasn’t given up on love or the possibility of maybe someday remarrying.

Kravitz and Lisa Bonet tied the knot in 1987 before divorcing in 1993. The former couple shares daughter Zoë Kravitz, 34.

Related: Lenny Kravitz Recalls Going to High School with Nicolas Cage — and Doing a School Play Together!

“I’ve grown enough. I’ve become stronger. I’ve become more disciplined,” he said. “I’ve become more open to be able to do so. But it’s been a very difficult thing for me to figure out.”

The New York native echoed those sentiments in a 2019 PEOPLE exclusive.

“I’m at a place now where I’ve been through so many relationships, and I haven’t been good at it all the time, at all. I’ve had a lot to learn, but I feel like I’m at a place where I’m really ready for that.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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