So THAT Happened: Were The Most Beloved Characters In ‘Almost Famous’ Actually Statutory Rapists?

For the most part, the history of TV and movies has been a wondrous and larger-than-life adventure, expanding our imaginations and our emotions. But sometimes that history has gotten weird. That’s where we come in. Welcome to So THAT Happened, a corner of the internet devoted to dredging up some of the most surprising pop culture moments and reminding you how weird pop culture history actually is.

When it comes to capturing the gritty and complicated world of music, Cameron Crowe is rightfully king. Crowe’s work has been widely praised, from Fast Times at Ridgemont High to Jerry Maguire. However, arguably Crowe’s crown jewel was his pet project, the semi-autobiographical drama, Almost Famous.

Almost Famous lives in the world of music and music journalism. The movie follows a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine in the early 1970s. William’s quest to write the perfect story leads his down a complicated road of sex, drama, music, and self discovery, all with the fictional rock band Stillwater leading the way. It’s a classic movie that’s rightfully won several awards. Also? One of the movie’s lead characters may have been disturbingly young when she started working with the band.

WTF HAPPENED?

The subject of this source of pop culture speculation is Kate Hudson’s character, Penny Lane. When we first meet Penny, she quickly establishes herself as the wise gateway to the world of Stillwater’s road crew. In a way, she’s the leader of the groupies, even though she quickly establishes that “groupies” is not an acceptable term. However, from her dramatic first appearance to the revelation that it was Penny who decreed her Band-aids would not have sex with the band, only give blowjobs, it’s clear that she’s been around the band block for a while.

When you first meet this retired band queen, it’s easy to think that she’s in her early 20s, especially when she’s compared to baby-faced Michael Angarano. However, one scene teases that Penny Lane is actually 16 during the course of the movie, meaning the band was likely travelling with a preteen girl.

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

It all boils down to how you interpret one scene. I’m sure this is an argument that’s been dwelling in the pop culture ether for years now, but the discussion was first brought to my attention by my colleague Joe Reid while he was listening to an episode of Griffin Newman and David Sims’ podcast, Black Check. Here’s the scene for reference:

Basically, you can look at this scene two ways. The more comforting and legal interpretation implies that Penny lies about everything. She matched William age for age, knowing that she’s telling him one continuous lie. What is Penny getting out of lying about her age? Who knows, but this idea does aline with her mischievous, fairy girl personality, and it leaves her age a mystery. You can think of Penny as 18, the age William originally proposed and Penny agrees on, which would mean that she was likely only 15 or 16 when she first started hanging out with Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup). Or you can read the scene in a creepier way.

As William continues to decrease his age, there is a point when Penny stops agreeing with him. After William says he’s 16, she says, “Me too. Isn’t it funny? The truth just sounds different.” William then admits that he’s actually 15, but Penny doesn’t follow him again.

Sharp-eyed (or eared) fans have pointed to this moment as an admission of Penny’s actual age — 16. If Penny was actually 16 at the start of this movie, she would be much younger when she first joined the band, likely around 13 or 14. Add this preteen possibility in with how flippantly the Band-Aids talk about sex, and the implications are creepy to say the least. There is never a direct sex scene between Penny and any of the band mates, but her relationship with Russell is certainly more than platonic.

NO, HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLY CREATED?

Crowe certainly seemed to be going for a creepier vibe when it came to the Band-aids’ relationship with Stillwater. However, the potential creepiness really only exists because of one ill-defined scene. Hudson was 21 when she played Penny, which leads us to believe that the character was definitely older than 16. But then there’s that one line — “The truth just sounds different.” I guess there’s really only one man who can clear this up for us:

[Where to watch Almost Famous]