Red Hot Chili Peppers: What happened to Anthony Kiedis?

Content advisory: This article mentions substance abuse, sexual abuse of minors, and sexual assault. Please take care while reading.

The Olympics closing ceremony saw the Red Hot Chilli Peppers make a surprise appearance from Los Angeles, where the 2028 Summer Olympics will take place. When you think about it, it makes sense considering half of their discography revolves around how great California is.

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers have been waxing lyrical about the sun bleached state for decades, but behind their music, and behind the cool façade the band exudes there is a darker story. Especially when it comes to frontman Anthony Kiedis, who committed some truly terrible acts after he rose to fame.

What happened to Anthony Kiedis?

In his autobiography, Scar Tissue, Kiedis detailed his rough childhood. At the age of 12, he moved away from his mother, to be with his father in Hollywood. While he was a loner for much of his youth, his friendship with Mike Balzary, AKA Flea, resulted in him getting into all sorts of trouble, and even breaking his back at the age of 15. 

Aside from his friends getting him into trouble, Kiedis’s father was also a terrible influence — he had been trying to make it as an actor, but ended up having to resort to selling drugs to other actors to make ends meet. Because of this, Anthony was around all kinds of illegal substances as a teenager, trying heroin for the first time at the incredibly young age of 14.

Also at the age of 14, he was statutorily raped by his father’s girlfriend. His childhood led to Kiedis struggling with opioid abuse for years, but it also resulted in his ideas of morality being completely warped. Of course, none of this would excuse what the singer would go on to do in adulthood, but it does somewhat explain it.

What did Anthony Kiedis do?

The appalling actions committed by the Chilli Peppers frontman are surprising and disappointing to hear. From sleeping with underage girls to sexual battery, the singer has been causing controversy and behaving like a wild animal since at least 1986. According to an article from Far Out, Kiedis started dating 16-year-old Skye Donovan when he was 24. 16 still counts as being a minor in the state of California, but despite this, he continued seeing her for a number of years. The relationship inspired the RHCP song, “Catholic School Girls Rule.”

In his autobiography, Kiedis also admits to sleeping with a 14-year-old both before and after finding out her age. While that is arguably the worst thing Kiedis did, there are a few other examples, including one time in 1989 when he was convicted of sexual battery after exposing himself and touching his crotch to a woman’s face. 

Did Anthony Kiedis face any consequences?

Not only has the singer never really expressed remorse for his actions, but he’s never really faced any consequences for them, either. Of course, all of this was a really long time ago, but it doesn’t change the fact that his actions as a young adult were pretty horrific. He’s gone on to have a successful career which persists to this day, and he’s even appeared in Hollywood blockbusters like Point Break.