Eagles member Vince Gill revealed he was the victim of an attempted sexual assault when he was younger and at school. He  added that the #MeToo movement, which grew out of the recent Hollywood sexual misconduct scandals, had encouraged him to break his lifelong silence.

Vintage Vinyl News reports that Gill, who joined the Eagles on tour last year, surprised record company executives when he “got serious” during a private performance. “I was in seventh grade, and a young, dumb kid,” he said. “I had a gym teacher that acted inappropriately toward me and was trying to do things that I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I was just fortunate that I got up and I ran. I just jumped up and I ran. I don’t know why. I don’t think I ever told anybody my whole life. Even what’s been going on has been giving me a little bit of courage to speak up too."

He then performed his song “Forever Changed” for the first time live. Its lyrics focus on sexual assault from the perspective of a female victim; Gill said it had taken him years to find the courage to record it.

Last month, Stevie Nicks commented on the backlash against sexual misconduct, saying everybody should “keep fighting” against inequality, but added that she’d been “very lucky” in her dealings with Fleetwood Mac. Earlier in January, Ann Wilson discussed the continued need to deliver the message of Heart’s 1977 song “Barracuda,” which was inspired by attempts to control her image using sexual suggestion.

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