Lenny Kravitz resists calling unwanted sexual encounter he had as teenager assault: 'I wasn't traumatized'

Emlyn Travis
·2 min read
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Lenny Kravitz resists calling unwanted sexual encounter he had as teenager assault: 'I wasn't traumatized'
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"Maybe somebody would say it should have been addressed and that it was, whatever, but that's the time it was."

Lenny Kravitz is speaking out about an unwanted sexual encounter he experienced as a teenager and what it taught him.

The “TK421” singer, who detailed the incident in his 2020 memoir, Let Love Rule, pushed back on a question about whether or not it could be considered sexual assault in an Esquire interview published Wednesday.

“It was an experience and a lesson,” Kravitz replied. “Everything doesn’t have to be so…”

The Grammy winner then shifted gears and noted the time period during which the encounter occurred. “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,” he said. “I lived, and I learned. I wasn’t traumatized.”

<p>Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images</p> Lenny Kravitz

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Lenny Kravitz

In his tell-all, Kravitz wrote that the incident took place when a family friend was watching him while his parents were out of town, per Esquire. The person invited friends over, one of whom came into the teenage Kravitz’s room, got in bed with him, and touched him.

It had a lasting effect on Kravitz and his thoughts on intimacy. “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.”

Elsewhere in the new interview, Kravitz reflected on his past relationships and admitted that he hasn’t always remained faithful in them, explaining that he struggled with “being confident that this is the person for me, always thinking something else may be better.” While he said he understands that line of thinking was “part of the journey,” Kravitz acknowledged, “I put some people through some hard times."

The 59-year-old rocker, who is currently single, added that he’s open to marriage and having children again in the future. “I’ve grown enough. I’ve become stronger. I’ve become more disciplined,” he said of the possibility of tying the knot a second time. “I’ve become more open to be able to do so. But it’s been a very difficult thing for me to figure out.”

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