The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde Criticized for Controversial Rape Remarks

Chrissie Hynde, The Pretenders singer, is under fire for making very controversial remarks about women who get raped.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Hynde, who revealed that she was raped when she was 21, stated that in certain situations, women are at fault for taunting men.

"You know if you don't want to entice a rapist, don't wear high heels so you can't run from him," Hynde, 63, said. "If I'm walking around and I'm very modestly dressed and I'm keeping to myself and someone attacks me, then I'd say that's his fault. But if I'm being very lairy and putting it about and being provocative, then you are enticing someone who's already unhinged-don't do that. Come on! That's just common sense."

She added, "I don't think I am saying anything controversial, am I?"

Hynde told the magazine that she was high on drugs and drunk when she was forced to perform sexual acts on guys from a motorcycle gang. The gang had offered to take her to a party.

"If I'm walking around in my underwear and I'm drunk. Who else's fault can it be? Technically speaking, however you want to look at it, this was all my doing and I take full responsibility," she said in regards to her rape.

Since making her comments, she has received a lot of backlash from people on Twitter as well as Lucy Hastings, the director of Victim Support.

Hastings said, via BBC, "Victims of sexual violence should never feel or be made to feel that they were responsible for the appalling crime they suffered-regardless of circumstances or factors which may have made them particularly vulnerable. They should not blame themselves or be blamed for failing to prevent an attack-often they will have been targeted by predatory offenders who are responsible for their actions."

Not everyone was quick to judge Hynde. Some people on twitter sympathized with her, stating that her comments show that she is still blaming herself for what happened to her decades ago.