Content Warning: This article discusses sexual assault, self-harm, and suicide. If you or someone you know is affected by the following story, you are not alone. To speak to someone, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Following the recent distressing news from Lady Gaga that she was raped when she was younger, talk show mogul Oprah Winfrey has broken down in tears and opened up about also being raped at a young age. The two women have bravely shared their trauma in hope that they can help others suffering from a similar experience.
Both women opened up about the sexual assault on the Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry-led mental health focussed series The Me You Can’t See which is streaming on Apple TV+.
In the latest episode, Winfrey 67 recounted the harrowing experience, revealing that she was a child at the time of the assault.
“At nine and 10 and 11 and 12 years old, I was raped by my 19-year-old cousin. I didn’t know what rape was. I certainly wasn’t aware of the word. I had no idea what sex was, I had no idea where babies came from, I didn’t even know what was happening to me. And I kept that secret.” she revealed.
“And it’s just something I accepted: that a girl child ain’t safe in a world full of men.”
“The telling of the story, the being able to say out loud, ‘This is what happened to me,’ is crucial.”
After opening up more about her sexual assault on The Me You Can’t See, Winfrey appeared on American talk show Today last night (Australian time) and told the host Hoda Kotb that she also experienced physical assault at the hands of her grandma.
“The way I was raised by my grandmother and whipped at three and four and five and six years old,” she said.
“My grandmother, who was very harsh, like a lot of Black parents during that era, the idea of hugging and loving on your child or even allowing the child to feel seen was just not a part of her life,”she added.
‘”But she did give me Jesus. She did give me a belief in something bigger than myself. So I am grateful for that.”
Winfrey first revealed that she had been raped in 1986 when she was doing a segment about sexual abuse victims and their molesters on her eponymously named talk show. Since then she has gone on to be an advocate for sexual assault victims and in 2018 she used the Golden Globes stage as a platform to raise awareness around the #MeToo movement.
For more on this topic head to the Film & TV Observer.
Watch Oprah Winfrey’s powerful speech when accepting the Cecil B. deMille Award at the Golden Globes in 2018:
