The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde Under Fire for Controversial Rape Comments

During an interview with The Sunday Times, the Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde made comments about rape that have drawn widespread criticism. She was asked about an excerpt from her new memoir where she details being forced to perform sexual acts on a member of a biker gang as a 21-year-old. She told the Times that the incident was her own fault, and then, she made comments claiming that rape can sometimes be the victim’s fault.

According to Jezebel, she said of her own experience, “…You can’t paint yourself into a corner and then say whose brush is this? You have to take responsibility. I mean, I was naive. … They’re motorcycle guys! If you play with fire you get burnt. It’s not any secret, is it?”

When interviewer Krissi Murison revealed to Hynde that she was “shocked” by her comments, Hynde responded, “If I’m walking around in my underwear and I’m drunk, who else’s fault can it be?” Murison replied, “The guy who attacks you?” Hynde continued:

“Oh, come on! That’s just silly. If I’m walking around and I’m very modestly dressed and I’m keeping to myself and someone attacks me, then I’d say that’s his fault. But if I’m being very lairy and putting it about and being provocative, then you are enticing someone who’s already unhinged — don’t do that. Come on! That’s just common sense. You know, if you don’t want to entice a rapist, don’t wear high heels so you can’t run from him. If you’re wearing something that says ‘Come and fuck me’, you’d better be good on your feet… I don’t think I’m saying anything controversial am I?”

Her comments drew criticism from Lucy Hastings, the director of Victim Support, who told The Guardian, “Victims of sexual violence should never feel or be made to feel that they were responsible for the appalling crime they suffered—regardless of circumstances or factors which may have made them particularly vulnerable.”

This isn’t the first time she’s discussed sexual assault in an interview. In a 1980 interview with Rolling Stone, Hynde said, “I had a few bad experiences, but the way I look at it now is, for every sort of act of sodomy I was forced to perform, I’m gettin’ paid 10,000 pounds now. … That’s how I try to look at it, anyway.”