Lita Ford has claimed she was “punched” and “choked unconscious” by ex-boyfriend Tony Iommi.
The former Runaways member makes a number of explosive claims in her upcoming memoir Living Like A Runaway, which is released in the US on February 23 and in the UK on April 7 via publishers Dey Street.
Among them, she alleges that the Black Sabbath guitarist assaulted her on at least two occasions as he battled drug addiction.
The New York Post reports that Ford says in her book she was invited to England to meet Iommi’s mother and that the first incident took place onboard the flight. She says that he “out of nowhere…hauled off and punched me in the eye.”
The couple went on to get engaged before a further incident in which she claims: “After snorting tons of blow, he got angry and choked me unconscious.
“When I woke up, I saw him holding a chair above my head. It was a big, heavy leather chair with studs around the arms, and he was about to smash it over my face. I rolled over, and luckily I moved fast enough that he missed me and the chair smashed into the ground.”
The book also describes drink and drug-fuelled encounters with Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Eddie Van Halen and Dee Dee Ramone.
Last year, Ford’s ex husband Jim Gillette said the pair’s two sons James and Rocco were frightened by accusations made by their mother. The couple were married for 16 years but divorced in 2011, with Ford later accusing her former partner of turning their children against her.
A sheriff’s report revealed that Ford’s sons didn’t want to be left with her because they feared she’d kill them. Gillette was later granted full custody of the children.
Tony Iommi’s management firm Equator Music declined to comment when approached by TeamRock.
