Ellen DeGeneres has opened up about being sexually assaulted by her stepfather as a teenager, saying that she felt “angry” at herself for not standing up to him.
DeGeneres speaks about her horrible experience in a new episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, due to be released on Netflixon Friday.
During the interview, the talk show host recounts how her
mother married her stepfather when DeGeneres was a teenager.
The
61-year-old says that her stepfather took advantage of this information in
order to feel her breasts.
“He told me
when she was out of town that he’d felt a lump in her breast and needed to feel
my breasts because he didn’t want to upset her, but he needed to feel mine,”
DeGeneres tells Letterman.
“I’m angry at myself
because, you know, I didn’t, I was too weak to stand up to, I was 15 or 16.”
DeGeneres adds that while
her experience is a really horrible story.
She disclosed why she is eager to tell the story now after so many years
being silent. “Is because I want other
girls to not ever let someone do that,” she said.
The Finding Dory star hopes that by sharing her story, other sexual assault survivors will feel encouraged to speak out about their experiences.
“We just don’t feel like we’re worthy, or we’re scared to have a voice, and we’re scared to say no. That’s the only reason I think it’s important to talk about it because there’s so many young girls and it doesn’t matter how old you are,” she states.
“When I see people
speaking out, especially now, it angers me when victims aren’t believed,
because we just don’t make stuff up.”
This isn’t
the first time DeGeneres has opened up about the sexual assault she suffered
during her childhood.
In October last year, the
talk show host spoke with actor Busy Philipps on The Ellen DeGeneres Show about
being sexually assaulted at 15.
“You just get so angry
when someone doesn’t believe you or say, ‘Why did you wait so long?’” she said.
“It’s because we’re girls and we’re taught not to say anything and go along
with it.”
Source: The
Independent