Can we talk about Don’s... “incident...” in 1980?

Hi all,

Long-time reader, first-time poster!

I’m 25, and had always heard rumblings about Don Henley and an underage girl who overdosed. I’d always assumed he had a party and someone had her over because that’s what I’d heard.

Well, I recently bought tickets to their AT&T Park show in September and I’ve been listening to them a lot again. (I actually joined the forum to reminisce about the HFO record, but never got around to it.) The underage prostitute incident came up on Don’s wikipedia page and I decided to do some investigating.

It’s not looking like there was a party. It looks like it was just him and an underaged prostitute.

Honestly, I don’t know what I should do with my tickets. I love The Eags, as David Spade calls them, but I can’t go to a concert where a(n alleged) pederast is on stage.

What are your guys’ thoughts on this whole thing? Am I missing a part of the story? What do we do with Don in the era of #metoo?

I don’t wanna give up the Eags :worried:

I'm not sure where you got your information, but the internet is full of unreliable sources.

I can tell you what Don Henley has stated. According to him, he did not have sex with the girl in question.

I can also tell you that there is no evidence that he is lying. He was never accused of statutory rape, much less convicted of it. The girl never claimed that she'd had sex with him.

I hope this assuages your fears... although I have to admit I'm dismayed by this statement:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hellhathfrozenover

I can’t go to a concert where a(n alleged) pederast is on stage.

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A "pederast" is a man who has sex with underage males, not females - you mean "pedophile" - but that piece of pedantry aside, I find it sad that "alleged" is apparently all it takes. Who needs proof, eh? "It has to be true - I read it on the internet!"

Anyway, if you really would like to know more, the story goes thusly:

On November 21, 1980, Don Henley had a party at his home - a "Farewell the the Eagles" party as the band was now officially ending. Invitations were extended to crew members and roadies. As was the custom for such parties, Don arranged for a madam to send over some prostitutes. One of them was the underage girl; however, her youth was not known to Don Henley.

As I said earlier, Don asserts that he did not have sex with the girl. According to him, he spent most of his time upstairs on the phone with his girlfriend and hardly circulated at all at the party, which was taking place on the main floor of his home.

I know it will surprise no one that drugs were passed around at this party. Don would later say these drugs belonged to the roadies. Regardless of who brought them, they were inevitably offered to the girl. She indulged in cocaine and Quaaludes, but her body apparently wasn't as prepared for the drugs as those around her. In the morning, while many were "sleeping it off," she started having seizures. Don was alerted and called 911. Paramedics arrived, the girl was treated, and thankfully she recovered.

The police became involved at this point after being contacted by the paramedics. They searched Don's home and found more drugs as well as another underage girl. He was arrested for drug possession and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He pled "No Contest" and received two years probation in addition to a $2000 fine. The court also required him to get drug counseling.

And there you have it.

(The original article in Rolling Stone can be found here).

It's not something we enjoy talking about. In fact, this is the first time since the board's inception that I've laid it bare like this. However, at this point I think it's best to get the facts out here rather than have people stumbling about the web and reading all sorts of BS.

I don't have anything further to add about Don, but I have a more general concern.

I believe it does no one any favours to describe sex with a 16 year-old as "pedophilia". It may be illegal in California but in most of Europe and in many US states, the legal age of consent is 16. I cannot feel the kind of moral outrage that pedophilia suggests and I feel it devalues the term.

A secondary concern, is that we are judging behaviour in the past by the standards of today. In 1980, attitudes about sex (and drugs) were different.

Well said Soda and UTW.

In many states in the U.S., including California, the legal age of consent is higher than 16. However, I do not know if that was the case at the time this incident occurred. I'm not defending Don's behavior, but she was a hired prostitute, so it's possible he may have assumed she was of legal age.

I also agree with UTW that the standards for this type of behavior in 1980 were much different than they are now. Again, I'm not judging - just stating the reality.

And lastly, if my memory serves me correctly, didn't this young lady die of a drug overdose several years after this incident?

I for one, will not be suprised if it turns out there is more to this.

History of California Age of Consent:

The age of consent, at the time applying only when the girl is the younger party, was 10 when California introduced its penal code in 1850. In 1889 the age of consent was raised to 14. In 1897 the age of consent became 16. The age of consent in California has been 18 since 1913. Some media sources reported that the age of consent in California in the 1970s was 14 or 16 but in fact it was and has been 18.[29]

In the 1990s Governor of California Pete Wilson stated that there was a trend of men in their mid-to-late 20s having sex with and impregnating teenage girls around 14 years of age and that the statutory rape laws needed to be enforced to prevent this.[33]

In 2012 Kristin Olsen, a Republican member of the State Assembly of California, sponsored a bill that criminalizes sexual relations between K-12 teachers and students, including students over 18, as well as sexual text messages and other communications aimed at seducing a student. The bill was proposed after a 41-year-old teacher and 18-year-old high school student publicly announced that they were in a relationship.[34] The bill was killed in committee by Democratic lawmakers concerned about the constitutionality of the proposed legislation.[35]

By 2014 there had been civil court rulings in California stating that minors under 18 may consent to sexual activity, even though the age of consent is 18 under state criminal law.[36]

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Good Lord, 10. That makes me seriously sick to my stomach.

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages..._United_States

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Originally Posted by Ive always been a dreamer

In many states in the U.S., including California, the legal age of consent is higher than 16. However, I do not know if that was the case at the time this incident occurred. I'm not defending Don's behavior, but she was a hired prostitute, so it's possible he may have assumed she was of legal age.

I also agree with UTW that the standards for this type of behavior in 1980 were much different than they are now. Again, I'm not judging - just stating the reality.

And lastly, if my memory serves me correctly, didn't this young lady die of a drug overdose several years after this incident?

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Dreamer, I believe she did. This was recently discussed in Don and the Press thread after that gossip site came out with a story about it. She was with another girl who was also a minor and a prostitute at the party. The one surviving girl threatened to come out with some big story about it this spring. She is now married to a Calif. politician if I remember the story right.

Thanks NKIT - However, if that is the only source, I am reluctant to believe any of it. Time will tell, I guess.

People, I cannot stress enough...

Don't believe something just because you read it on the internet.

NKIT, you are repeating unsubstantiated gossip as if it were established fact.

Everything in my post can be fact-checked via newspapers and interviews. Nothing on that "gossip site" can be verified, not even the identity of the girl.

It's important to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources, which is why this post exists.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sodascouts

People, I cannot stress enough...

Don't believe something just because you read it on the internet.

NKIT, you are repeating unsubstantiated gossip as if it were established fact.

Everything in my post can be fact-checked via newspapers and interviews. Nothing on that "gossip site" can be verified, not even the identity of the girl.

It's important to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources, which is why this post exists.

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No Soda, I am not. I was merely stating what was discussed in another thread regarding this. Dreamer asked if one of the girls later died of an overdose, which I confirmed. I then said the information came from a gossip site(which I had never heard of). I never indicated it was fact. I know that whole story and know what you posted is fact. The fact that it came from a gossip site should make people skeptical. I said in the other thread that I believed there was no truth to it and believed it was politically motivated. Perhaps I should have said that here. I hope this clears things up.

Soda, thank you for the concise summary. It's good to have the known facts all together in black and white. I wasn't aware of a couple of the details before you posted this.

15 and 16 are so young. That part of it really makes me sick. I guess it's conceivable that a girl that age could look 18, but probably no one was looking too hard, and the drugs being passed around didn't help matters, either.

Was anyone else charged in this matter? It seems to me that if Don was telling the truth and he didn't have sex with the girl (which the authorities could most likely have verified), and the girls were partying with other guests, there is (at least in my mind) some indication that others should have shared liability for what happened. Also, what about the "house of ill repute"? Wouldn't the primary responsibility of making sure that the girls were of age fall on them?

To me, this is very different from #metoo. It's (as far as we know) an isolated incident that happened almost 40 years ago. It is NOT underage girls suddenly coming out of the woodwork and stating that they were molested by Don.

Don went to court for the incident, was sentenced, and complied with that sentence. Anything else is hearsay.

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Originally Posted by New Kid In Town

No Soda, I am not. I was merely stating what was discussed in another thread regarding this. Dreamer asked if one of the girls later died of an overdose, which I confirmed. I then said the information came from a gossip site(which I had never heard of). I never indicated it was fact. I know that whole story and know what you posted is fact. The fact that it came from a gossip site should make people skeptical. I said in the other tghread that I believed there was no truth to it and believed it was politically motivated. Perhaps I should have said that here. I hope this clears things up.

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Hi NKIT!

I remember that thread and frankly after reading this article in Vanity Fair, I have decided it is quite possible we have not heard the last from this particular "blind item" gossip site. Here's why (per the article Crazy Days & Nights is all about the reveal). My underscore.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/201...enty-interview

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sodascouts

People, I cannot stress enough...

Don't believe something just because you read it on the internet.

NKIT, you are repeating unsubstantiated gossip as if it were established fact.

Everything in my post can be fact-checked via newspapers and interviews. Nothing on that "gossip site" can be verified, not even the identity of the girl.

It's important to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources, which is why this post exists.

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Thank you, Soda.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by maryc2130

Also, what about the "house of ill repute"? Wouldn't the primary responsibility of making sure that the girls were of age fall on them?

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High-priced madams will provide whatever the client requests. It’s good business and they want return customers.

I agree this is not a #metoo issue. I’d rather not say more b/c I’m reluctant to engage in idle gossip.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sodascouts

People, I cannot stress enough...

Don't believe something just because you read it on the internet.

NKIT, you are repeating unsubstantiated gossip as if it were established fact.

Everything in my post can be fact-checked via newspapers and interviews. Nothing on that "gossip site" can be verified, not even the identity of the girl.

It's important to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources, which is why this post exists.

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While I absolutely agree it is important ... the reality of "fake news" being used by the mainstream print, electronic and broadcast media to further self-serving agendas makes that process extremely difficult.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Delilah

High-priced madams will provide whatever the client requests. It’s good business and they want return customers.

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I realize that it's good business but it's different when they're providing girls below the legal age. It's illegal, not to mention immoral. IMHO, they should be held accountable when they break that law. (Completely aside from the issue of the legality of prostitution itself.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hellhathfrozenover

Hi all,

Long-time reader, first-time poster!

I’m 25, and had always heard rumblings about Don Henley and an underage girl who overdosed. I’d always assumed he had a party and someone had her over because that’s what I’d heard.

Well, I recently bought tickets to their AT&T Park show in September and I’ve been listening to them a lot again. (I actually joined the forum to reminisce about the HFO record, but never got around to it.) The underage prostitute incident came up on Don’s wikipedia page and I decided to do some investigating.

It’s not looking like there was a party. It looks like it was just him and an underaged prostitute.

Honestly, I don’t know what I should do with my tickets. I love The Eags, as David Spade calls them, but I can’t go to a concert where a(n alleged) pederast is on stage.

What are your guys’ thoughts on this whole thing? Am I missing a part of the story? What do we do with Don in the era of #metoo?

I don’t wanna give up the Eags :worried:

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I'll join in with what soda and others have said here, but I also want to say that, whatever your opinion is of Don Henley, I hope you don't let it tarnish your opinion of the Eagles and their music. You can still enjoy the music, regardless of what he has done or hasn't done in his personal life.

I don't know how to quote more than one person, but to respond to maryc3120, I wouldn't be surprised if other people were charged as well. The "madam," the other party guests, whoever actually gave the girl the drugs, would, in my opinion, need to be charged too. We just know about Henley because he's a celebrity.

maryc, I do not know whether or not others were charged, but it was Don Henley's home. If the drugs were found on the premises, then he would be the one held accountable. Anyone else would have had to have literally been holding drugs on their person in order to be arrested for possession.

The same is true for the young women; he is the one who paid the madam for their services. Unless there were guys still hanging around and the girl pointed at them and said, "He slept with me," no others could be charged. It's not like names and numbers were exchanged.

I suppose they could have mounted a full scale investigation and tried to track down everyone who had been at the party, then line them up and ask the girls to identify all the men they remember sleeping with, all the ones who'd passed them drugs, but prosecuting that in court would be a nightmare. I think they stopped after they arrested Don because he was the only one they could prove was in possession of drugs and had hired an underage prostitute, albeit unwittingly. Of course, the girls and the madam herself would be dealt with separately.

As to whether there is "more to it", I will not speculate without proof. That "blind item" is not good enough for me. It has absolutely no evidence.

Dawn is right that even the mainstream media seems to care about evidence less and less.

That doesn't mean we should stop requiring evidence before making our judgments... not if we want to be critical thinkers. More importantly, not if we want to be fair.

Until I get some evidence to the contrary - REAL evidence, not internet conspiracy theory crap - I presume innocence.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by New Kid In Town

No Soda, I am not. I was merely stating what was discussed in another thread regarding this. Dreamer asked if one of the girls later died of an overdose, which I confirmed. I then said the information came from a gossip site(which I had never heard of). I never indicated it was fact. I know that whole story and know what you posted is fact. The fact that it came from a gossip site should make people skeptical. I said in the other thread that I believed there was no truth to it and believed it was politically motivated. Perhaps I should have said that here. I hope this clears things up.

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Thanks NKIT - That was the way I interpreted your response. When I asked the question, I didn't remember that the source was that gossip site, otherwise, I would not have even mentioned it and why I answered you back the way I did. I also agree that the claims on that site are unreliable and unsubstatiated and should not be accepted as fact unless credible evidence proves otherwise.

I’m directly neutral on the topic, I agree with dreamer and soda about waiting for credible facts when discussing this. I do know that the original source mentioned that Don will be enjoying his next thanksgiving in prison. I think they in other parts hinted at this person coming out with her story with photographic proof. Obviously this is a gossip site so anything they say shouldn’t be taken that seriously. My point is just that we Should find out this year if they were serious or if this was a hoax.

Hi guys,

Well... guess who completely forgot about this thread until now lol.

To those saying that I shouldn’t believe everything I read, I’m well aware. I didn’t say this was fact, nor did I take it as fact.

I will say, however... they broke the story about Boyd Tinsley months ago... and it just came out.

We shall see!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hellhathfrozenover

Hi all,

Long-time reader, first-time poster!

I’m 25, and had always heard rumblings about Don Henley and an underage girl who overdosed. I’d always assumed he had a party and someone had her over because that’s what I’d heard.

Well, I recently bought tickets to their AT&T Park show in September and I’ve been listening to them a lot again. (I actually joined the forum to reminisce about the HFO record, but never got around to it.) The underage prostitute incident came up on Don’s wikipedia page and I decided to do some investigating.

It’s not looking like there was a party. It looks like it was just him and an underaged prostitute.

Honestly, I don’t know what I should do with my tickets. I love The Eags, as David Spade calls them, but I can’t go to a concert where a(n alleged) pederast is on stage.

What are your guys’ thoughts on this whole thing? Am I missing a part of the story? What do we do with Don in the era of #metoo?

I don’t wanna give up the Eags :worried:

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it's overestimated. So really what happened was Don just had a prostitute who he paid for sex. And he did not give her drugs, but of course there was alcohol at the party so no one really stopped her. And this was 38 years ago, in 1980. Henley went sober sometime between 1980 and 1994. So Henley is not an assaulter. And he doesn't do that kind of stuff anymore.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dawn

History of California Age of Consent:

The age of consent, at the time applying only when the girl is the younger party, was 10 when California introduced its penal code in 1850. In 1889 the age of consent was raised to 14. In 1897 the age of consent became 16. The age of consent in California has been 18 since 1913. Some media sources reported that the age of consent in California in the 1970s was 14 or 16 but in fact it was and has been 18.[29]

In the 1990s Governor of California Pete Wilson stated that there was a trend of men in their mid-to-late 20s having sex with and impregnating teenage girls around 14 years of age and that the statutory rape laws needed to be enforced to prevent this.[33]

In 2012 Kristin Olsen, a Republican member of the State Assembly of California, sponsored a bill that criminalizes sexual relations between K-12 teachers and students, including students over 18, as well as sexual text messages and other communications aimed at seducing a student. The bill was proposed after a 41-year-old teacher and 18-year-old high school student publicly announced that they were in a relationship.[34] The bill was killed in committee by Democratic lawmakers concerned about the constitutionality of the proposed legislation.[35]

By 2014 there had been civil court rulings in California stating that minors under 18 may consent to sexual activity, even though the age of consent is 18 under state criminal law.[36]

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Good Lord, 10. That makes me seriously sick to my stomach.

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages..._United_States

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Well this girl gave consent to Henley to do this. or rather sold consent (she was a prostitute so Henley paid her for it)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hellhathfrozenover

Hi all,

Long-time reader, first-time poster!

I’m 25, and had always heard rumblings about Don Henley and an underage girl who overdosed. I’d always assumed he had a party and someone had her over because that’s what I’d heard.


Well, I recently bought tickets to their AT&T Park show in September and I’ve been listening to them a lot again. (I actually joined the forum to reminisce about the HFO record, but never got around to it.) The underage prostitute incident came up on Don’s wikipedia page and I decided to do some investigating.

It’s not looking like there was a party. It looks like it was just him and an underaged prostitute.

Honestly, I don’t know what I should do with my tickets. I love The Eags, as David Spade calls them, but I can’t go to a concert where a(n alleged) pederast is on stage.

What are your guys’ thoughts on this whole thing? Am I missing a part of the story? What do we do with Don in the era of #metoo?

I don’t wanna give up the Eags :worried:

---

I LOVE Eagles music. There is absolutely no doubt they are one of the most talented bands ever. I have problems with their morals and was disturbed with the story about Don Henly & the drugged prostitute. I do think one fact in his favor is that he did call paramedics to help the young prostitute. Certainly the entire band is has no morals as to sex....but then this is a common story with all these bands. I chose to enjoy the music and do not idolize them nor judge their morals. If Don was not at least honest, he would have moved the prostitute out of his house and staged a scene somewhere else and then called paramedics. In the end, he did the right thing and took responsibility for it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hellhathfrozenover

Hi guys,

Well... guess who completely forgot about this thread until now lol.

To those saying that I shouldn’t believe everything I read, I’m well aware. I didn’t say this was fact, nor did I take it as fact.

I will say, however... they broke the story about Boyd Tinsley months ago... and it just came out.

We shall see!

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This story is old, old news. As a long time Eagles fan from the 70's, I can tell you this was all over in the news in 1980. After the Eagles broke up in Oct. 1080, Don had a party at his house for all the Eagles road crew. Prostitutes were called and and the girl who OD'd was underage. Don stated then he did not supply to girl with drugs and did not know she was under age. He also stated he did not have sex with her. He took the fall for whoever was involved in the road crew. He was charged, sentenced and placed on two years probation. Don gave up his heavy drinking in the 90's. That was 39 years ago. He has been married for 24 years and has three kids. He has not lived that lifestyle in many. many years. Just enjoy their music and go enjoy the concert - I am sure you paid a pretty penny for the tickets.

One thing the revival of this thread reminded me of - remember that blind item a while back that said Don would be spending Thanksgiving 2018 in jail because of previously unseen evidence that would reveal all sorts of additional terrible things he did in 1980?

Oops! Guess what didn't happen?

Surprise, surprise - turns out it was all bull$**t.

I remembered that. I knew it was not true. The woman was just talking up her azz. The "Me Too" movement kinda has died down.

The anniversary is coming up on Thursday.