Eh. I mean, it's fairly openly acknowledged there was a phase during the 70s where there was very little interest/control in who or what rock/pop stars were banging, and that many of the groupies who threw themselves at them were of questionable age. I don't know if pedophile or rape are exactly the right words (queue yet another instance of Charlie calling me a rape apologist in 3...2....1.....); female beauty ideals at the time (and now, again, by the way) were strongly leaning towards "teen"/youth (as opposed to the beauty ideal of late 80s/early 90s, for example, where "big boobs" were a large part of Pamela Anderson's appeal). Combined with the "free love" etc of the time meant a lot of people were acting "above" their age and behaving in adult ways too young (by which I mean, sex with adults). I don't think Bowie - in contrast to, for example, Polanski - ever deliberately searched out girls for their age. I do think he took advantage of/had fun with/... groupies, and didn't bother to ask how old they were - or, probably, cared. That's wrong, certainly from here, looking back, but even in its historical context.
This day and age, I'd imagine any pop/rock star with at least 2 brain cells left to ask a girl if they're 18 (or 16 or whatever the age of consent is at the time and place) before doing too much. Back then, that wasn't exactly a given.
And for those saying it's easy to see and/or clear when someone's 18 or not...Not always. Heck, I just recently learned Mila Kunis only turned 18 during the fifth season of That 70s Show. Yes, knowing that makes me feel icky that I thought she was good looking in some of the earlier seasons too...But she acts and plays just like anyone else in the group - who all are 18.
Anyway, he's a rock star who slept with and did drugs with groupies - willingly on their part. Some of them probably weren't of legal age yet. Does that mean he did something wrong? Yes. Does it mean he's suddenly a monster? No.
This day and age, I'd imagine any pop/rock star with at least 2 brain cells left to ask a girl if they're 18 (or 16 or whatever the age of consent is at the time and place) before doing too much. Back then, that wasn't exactly a given.
And for those saying it's easy to see and/or clear when someone's 18 or not...Not always. Heck, I just recently learned Mila Kunis only turned 18 during the fifth season of That 70s Show. Yes, knowing that makes me feel icky that I thought she was good looking in some of the earlier seasons too...But she acts and plays just like anyone else in the group - who all are 18.
Anyway, he's a rock star who slept with and did drugs with groupies - willingly on their part. Some of them probably weren't of legal age yet. Does that mean he did something wrong? Yes. Does it mean he's suddenly a monster? No.
