Findings
| When | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Lori Maddox alleged that she lost her virginity to David Bowie in 1973 when she was 14 years old and he was 26. According to Maddox, Bowie's bodyguard recruited her from a Hollywood modeling agency, after which she was taken to a hotel room where Bowie was hiding out from fans. While Maddox later described the encounter as romantic and consensual from her perspective at the time, the relationship legally constituted statutory rape and has since been widely scrutinized as a high-profile example of the grooming and exploitation of minors in 1970s rock culture. Later in life, Bowie expressed deep remorse regarding his early career, admitting he was so heavily under the influence of drugs that he rarely verified the ages of his sexual partners. He later donated to various sexual assault relief organizations. | Source |
| 1976 | David Bowie triggered an international controversy in May 1976 when he was photographed raising his arm while arriving in an open-top Mercedes at London Victoria Station, which the press alleged was a Nazi salute. The public outcry exploded because it followed a series of bizarre, drug-addled interviews where Bowie expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and claimed Britain could "benefit from a fascist leader". He later blamed his erratic behavior, fascist remarks, and fascination with totalitarianism on severe cocaine addiction, psychological exhaustion, and losing himself in his cold, aristocratic persona, the "Thin White Duke". Bowie later apologized, renounced fascism, and spent the subsequent decades actively speaking out against racism and supporting multiculturalism. | Source |
| Late 70's, 2016 | David Bowie's ex-wife, Angie Bowie, alleged that the musician attempted to strangle her during a drug-fueled altercation at their Los Angeles home in the late 1970s. The claims, made public during Angie's 2016 television appearance, stated that the incident was halted only after Bowie's assistant intervened. | Source |
| 1972, 1976 | While he later expressed regret over labeling his own sexuality due to intense media scrutiny, his early public declarations of being gay (1972) and bisexual (1976) forced the mainstream media to openly discuss sexuality. | Source |
| Bowie was a prominent, active supporter of the Keep a Child Alive foundation, which provides life-saving HIV/AIDS medication and poverty relief to children and families in Africa. His final public live performance in 2006 was at a benefit concert for this exact organization. | Source | |
| 1983 | Bowie used his platform to directly confront MTV VJ Mark Goodman about the channel's lack of representation, demanding to know why they rarely played music videos by Black artists. | Source |
Spotted an error? Let us know.