She may be 64 now, but Chrissie Hynde is still one tough rock ‘n’ roller. She proved that once again this week when a simmering controversy over a passage in her new memoir blew up in a hostile interview with a National Public Radio reporter. Hynde complained profanely when reporter David Greene asked about critics of her recounting of a long-ago assault, saying she felt under attack by a lynch mob.

The anecdote has overshadowed “Reckless: My Life as a Pretender,” a tale of rock debauchery she waited until after her parents died to tell, and its author is plainly sick of it.

The episode took place in Ohio, where she grew up. The future rock star was taken to an abandoned house by bikers who demanded sexual favors and threatened violence. Hynde isn’t specific about what happened, other than to say she “humored” her attackers and gave them Quaaludes.

Her elaboration in a London newspaper interview, where she said it was “common sense” not to entice an unhinged person through provocative dress and actions, was criticized for a blame-the-victim mentality. “I can’t believe this (expletives),” singer Lucinda Williams wrote on Facebook. “Come on, Chrissie!”

Hynde’s touchiness with NPR brought new attention. Given the lightning speed of social media, it led to a backlash against the backlash.

While not defending Hynde’s attitude toward assault, Sophie Gilbert wrote in The Atlantic that “the instinct to lash out at someone who’s honest about a terrible thing that happened to her, and to victimize her once again, ultimately says more about the people doing the shaming than it does the supposed perpetrator.”


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