Gabrielle Union recently expressed her feelings when it came to Rihanna’s controversial new video “Man Down.” Union, via her Twitter, said, “During my rape I tried 2 shoot my rapist, bt I missed. Over the yrs I realized tht killin my rapist would’ve added insult 2 injury. The DESIRE 2 kill someone whose abused/raped u is understandable, bt unless its self defense n the moment 2 save ur life, just ADDS 2 ur troubles #mandown.”
Union credited Rihanna’s video “Man Down” with not only getting her to talk about her ordeal, but many more people, as well.
STORY: Gabrielle Union Backs Up Rihanna “I Tried To Shoot My Rapist” (PHOTOS)
A very sad tale and just think, behind every pretty face, there is a story that is untold. Beneath all the beauty, glitz and glam, the struggle of a secret still manages to pierce through the soul. A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.
STORY: “I Was 15 When I Was Raped”
Gabrielle Union is teaming up with super model Jessica White to launch an online campaign to help other women who have endured similar experiences. Model Jessica White who revealed that she was abused as a child, has said that she has “the blood of a warrior” and would continue to fight on. Through her pain she has created the Angel Wings Foundation, which funds programs that give shelter to women and girls who have been abused.
When celebrities speak out about their abuse, they have the power to get people to listen. See the next page as celebrities share their sexual abuse stories.
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Actress:
When she was 19, while working as a shop assistant in California, a man robbed the store and forced Union and a co-worker into a back room, where he raped her at gun point.
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The Queen of Talk:
Oprah Winfrey, at 9 years old while living in Milwaukee, was left with their 19-year-old cousin to watch her and her siblings. It was her cousin who sexually abused Oprah for the first time. She was again abused by a family friend and an uncle a couple of years later.
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The Director:
Tyler Perry says he was 5 or 6 years old the first time he was molested. While building a birdhouse with an adult male neighbor, the man put his hands in Tyler’s pants. Tyler later endured sexual molestation at the hands of a male nurse and a man he knew from church. His first sexual experience with a woman was when a friend of his mother’s, forced him to have sex with her when he was only 10 years old.
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Desperate Housewives:
Teri Hatcher has revealed that she was sexually abused by her uncle, Richard Hayes Stone. Hatcher said she was 5-years-old living in Sunnyvale, Calif., with her family when Stone would manipulate situations to get him and Hatcher alone in his car so he could take advantage of her.
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The Comedian:
Mo’Nique reveals that she was sexually abused by her brother at the age of seven. The comedian says her brother molested her four times over the course of four years. He often used candy to lure her into the bathroom, where much of the abuse took place.
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The Rapper:
Queen Latifah reveals she would often be placed under a babysitter’s care, but her life was turned upside down when one teenage male sitter decided to take advantage of the youngster.
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The Actress:
Tatum O’Neal is best known for her film work as a child actress in the 1970s. She was molested by a male friend of her father.
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The Actress:
McKenzie Phillips had a 10-year sexual relationship with her father. She was first raped by her father in a hotel room when she was 18 while passed out after a drug binge, but continued to use drugs and have consensual sex with him.
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The Boxer:
Sugar Ray Leonard was sexually abused by a “prominent Olympic boxing coach” when he was 15-years-old.
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The Queen:
Mary J. Blige had a confused and promiscuous adolescence, after being sexually molested when she was just five years old.
