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Music industry will not let me escape abuser, says Lily Allen

Lily Allen (Ian West/PA)
Lily Allen (Ian West/PA)

Singer Lily Allen has said the music industry will not let her escape from someone she has accused of sexually abusing her.

Allen, 33, said that when she reported her allegations to her representatives, nothing was done about it.

The Smile singer compared her treatment to that of actress Rose McGowan, who was one of the first women to accuse disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of rape.

Lily Allen has opened up about her experiences of sexual abuse within the music industry.
Lily Allen has opened up about her experiences of sexual abuse within the music industry (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA)

Speaking to the i newspaper, she said she thought her record label would not act on her claims because the person, who she did not name, carried too much power and influence within the industry.

She said: “I’ve had things happen that I would feel uncomfortable talking about because they’re linked with lots of people I work with. People who are in control of things that affect me.”

Confirming that was talking about sexual abuse, Allen continued: “But like Rose McGowan, I reported it to people around me – women! – and no-one did anything.

“My record label have a list of priority acts, pretty much all of which have a link to the person who did something to me. I know what will happen.

“They’ll say, ‘Let’s try and get rid of Lily because this person is worth more to us because he makes us lots of money.’

“In film and TV, you can choose not to work with any of those people again.

“You can move country, move out of London to LA. You can’t do that in music.

“It’s the same bunch of people on both sides of the Atlantic and it’s inescapable because it’s 15-year-long contracts.”

Allen, who has two daughters with ex-husband Sam Cooper (Ethel, six, and Marnie, five), also spoke about her issues with substance abuse during her career.

Allen’s debut single Smile, from her triple-platinum selling album Alright, Still topped the UK singles chart when she was 20 years old.

She said: “I’d always been a drug taker back in the day. I would drink, but it was more just an accessory to drugs.

“I suddenly realised I wasn’t really taking drugs any more, but I was drinking a bottle of vodka to myself every day.”

Allen said that, again, nobody around her tried to intervene to help her with her addictions.

She said: “The thing is, when you call time on something, everyone goes home and there’s no money. So it’s not really in anyone’s interest to say, ‘This has got to stop, you need to go home’.”

The full interview with Allen is available in Friday’s issue of the i newspaper.

Representatives for Allen’s record label have been contacted for comment.