Sheryl Crow has come forward about being sexually harassed by Frank DiLeo, Michael Jackson’s manager, while she was on tour with the singer in the late 80s.
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Taking part in an extensive interview with The Independent, Crow opened up about the sexual harassment she experienced from DiLeo. She first came forward about what she experienced during her time as a backup singer in Michael Jackson’s band in her 2020 autobiography Words + Music.
Crow says the autobiography “was the first time I’ve ever talked about it.”
“It felt really uncomfortable,” Crow said, “but it felt, to me, so much more empowering to be able to talk about it and then play the music that was inspired by it.”
One of the songs that references her experiences with DiLeo was “The Na-Na Song” off her 1993 debut record Tuesday Night Music Club. The song includes the line, “Frank DiLeo’s dong/Maybe if I’d have let him I’d have a hit song.”
Crow says that DiLeo subjected her to sexual harassment throughout the tour and promised to make her a star all while threatening her career if she refused, or told anyone about his advances.
“Naiveté is such a beautiful thing,” Crow said. “It was incredible in every way, shape and form for a young person from a really small town to see the world and to work with arguably the greatest pop star. But I also got a crash course in the music industry.”
Crow is set to perform a global livestream concert on Friday, June 18 called “The Songs & The Stories.” At the performance, Crow will be performing songs from the church in her backyard and share insights behind the songs she plays. This will include music that references her time on tour with Michael Jackson.
“It’s really interesting to go back and revisit some of this old stuff and the experiences that went along with it, and then to compare it with where we are now,” Crow said.
“To be able to play that stuff about the long bout of sexual harassment I endured during the Michael Jackson tour and to talk about it in the midst of the MeToo movement... it feels like we’ve come a long way, but it doesn’t feel like we’re quite there yet.”
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