Life in the spotlight is never easy — especially if you're harbouring a tragic secret. Be warned:
the following video includes allegations of domestic abuse and sexual assault.
In 2020, the world was stunned when Corey Feldman named the men that he
claimed sexually assaulted him and his late friend, Corey Haim. Feldman claimed that Haim
told him he was attacked by actor Charlie Sheen on the set of the 1986 film Lucas.
Haim was just 13 and Sheen 19 at the time. Sheen adamantly
denied any wrongdoing in a strongly worded statement to Entertainment Weekly, saying:
"These sick, twisted and outlandish allegations never occurred. Period."
But fans were moved by Feldman's emotional testimony when describing
Sheen's alleged abuse of his best friend. In a documentary about the assaults, Feldman said:
"This wasn't like a one time thing he said in passing. It wasn't like, 'Oh,
by the way, this happened.' He went into great detail."
In the documentary, Feldman also named four men he had previously accused of sexually abusing him:
Jon Grissom, Alphy Hoffman, Marty Weiss, and Dominick Brascia. The latter died in 2018,
while the other three men have either ignored or denied the allegations against them.
In an emotional 1986 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show,
broadcaster and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey revealed she was molested by her cousin, uncle,
and a family friend. As a result of her horrific abuse, Oprah found herself pregnant at age 14.
"I'd been sexually abused and then
hid the pregnancy. I thought I had no alternative but to kill myself, I was 14 years old."
Winfrey added that she had tried to hide her pregnancy because she felt so much "pain and
shame" about it. She gave birth prematurely to a son who tragically died a short time later.
Winfrey says that she eventually discussed the alleged abuse with family members at age 24,
but they reportedly refused to believe her story. In 2015, Winfrey opened up
again about her painful past when speaking in Melbourne, Australia. She told an audience:
"I did an interview with a reporter before I came to Australia and she said you should name
the baby son who died. So I have named him. I had a little boy named Canaan.
I did have a son. And I named him Canaan because Canaan means new land, new life."
Although Oprah did not go on to have any more biological children, she considers herself a,
quote, "mother to the world's children." Winfrey has also invested $40 million into
the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls south of Johannesburg,
South Africa. The private boarding school opened in January 2007 and caters to 450 children.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault,
help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest
National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
When Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron was 15, her father Charles came home drunk
and carrying a gun. He fired through a door at Charlize and her mother, Gerda.
Acting to protect herself and her teen daughter, Gerda retrieved a handgun.
She fatally shot Charles in an incident that was later ruled self-defense by authorities.
Theron has spoken at length about that terrifying night in June 1991 in the years that followed,
including a candid 2017 interview with Sirius radio host Howard Stern.
The star admitted she would often tell others her father died in a car accident
because she didn't want to share her story. Theron remembered:
"They don't know how to respond to that. And I didn't want to feel like a victim.
I struggled with that for many years until I actually started therapy."
In 2008, Theron's experiences as a young survivor of domestic abuse
led to her being named as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
The South African native is now tasked with promoting efforts to end violence against women.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse,
you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
In 2018, Hollywood actress Jamie Lee Curtis bravely revealed to the world
that she had been dependent on opiates for 10 years. Her addiction to Vicodin
stemmed from a minor plastic surgery procedure. She told People Magazine:
"I was ahead of the curve of the opiate epidemic.
I had a 10-year run, stealing, conniving. No one knew. No one."
The star admitted she's lucky to have survived her addiction, which began in the late '80s. Sadly,
addiction has affected the Curtis family many times over the years. Her father, Tony Curtis,
abused alcohol, cocaine, and heroin, and Jamie has even admitted that she once did drugs with him;
in 1994, her brother Nicholas Curtis died from a heroin overdose.
Curtis attended her first recovery meeting in February 1999. That same day,
she finally told her husband of 33 years, actor-director Christopher Guest,
about her struggle with opiates. The Golden Globe-winning actress celebrated
22 years of sobriety in February 2021 with a touching post on Instagram. She wrote:
"To all those struggling and those who are on the path [...] MY HAND IN YOURS."
Curtis continues to attend meetings and often sponsors those who are struggling with addiction.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues,
help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
In an extraordinary interview with Rolling Stone in 2015, actor Terrence Howard recalled
a traumatic event that has forever influenced his life. In 1971, when he was just 2 years old,
Howard claimed he witnessed his father, then-21-year-old Tyrone Howard, kill a man.
The pair were waiting in line in a Cleveland, Ohio department store to see Santa Claus.
Jack Fitzpatrick, a 36-year-old man, was there with three of his own children,
while his pregnant wife shopped with their oldest daughter. An argument soon took place between
Fitzpatrick and Tyrone Howard. The two went back and forth about who was next in line. The argument
escalated until Tyrone grabbed a nearby nail file and stabbed Fitzpatrick to death. The encounter
came to be known as the "Santa Line Slaying" and made national headlines. Terrance recalled:
"I was standing next to my father, watching. Then stuff happened so quickly — blood was on
the coats, on our jackets — and then my dad's on a table and then my dad is gone to prison."
Tyrone was charged with second-degree murder and was eventually convicted of manslaughter.
He received a sentence of 1-to-25 years in prison and spent 11 months in jail,
eventually being paroled for good behavior. Despite alleging he was
abusive to him growing up, Terrence says his father taught him to be a man. He said:
"My daddy taught me, 'Never take the vertebrae out of your back
or the bass out of your throat. I ain't raisin' sheep. I raised men. Stay a man.'"
Fans around the world were devastated to hear news of the death of Black
Panther star Chadwick Boseman on August 28th, 2020. He was just 43 years old.
Boseman had been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2016, with the disease quickly
progressing to stage 4. Despite much speculation over pictures of him appearing worryingly skinny,
Boseman never publicly spoke about his cancer diagnosis. A source close to the star told The
Hollywood Reporter that the actor was convinced that he would survive the disease until about a
week before his death. Boseman was well known for his work with cancer and children's charities,
having donated money to the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem; he would also frequently visit
terminally ill children, even as he underwent grueling chemotherapy treatments himself.
Only a handful of non-family members knew that Boseman had cancer, with some unaware of how
ill the actor really was. Boseman died at his Los Angeles home with his wife, singer Taylor Simone
Ledward, and his family by his side. A public memorial service was held on September 4th,
2020, in Anderson, South Carolina, where the speakers included Boseman's childhood pastor,
as well as Deanna Brown Thomas, daughter of James Brown, whom Boseman portrayed in Get on Up.
"This loss is felt around the world. People in every country. He was pretty amazing…
he is Wakanda Forever."
In 2016, former British boy band star Zayn Malik revealed he developed an eating disorder
while performing as part of One Direction. In March 2015, after missing out on a number of
appearances with the chart-topping group, Malik had quit the band. In excerpts from his memoir,
the 28-year-old says seeing pictures from 2014 made him realize "how ill" he was. He wrote:
"It wasn't as though I had any concerns about my weight or anything like that. I'd
just go for days — sometimes two or three days straight – without eating anything at
all. It got quite serious, although at the time I didn't recognise it for what it was."
The singer also said that he felt powerless and suffered from anxiety. He controlled his food
intake to such a degree that he became ill, and his anxiety progressed enough for him to pull
out of a number of performances. However, Malik is determined to overcome his anxiety
and resume his career, first by starting small and then gradually working toward bigger shows.
If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit
the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline
at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).
In 2019, Demi Moore bared her soul in her New York Times best-selling memoir,
Inside Out. The book offered insight into Moore's marriages to Ashton Kutcher and Bruce Willis,
as well as her struggles with anxiety and eating disorders. One of the more shocking revelations
in Moore's memoir was her admission that she was sexually assaulted by a man who was in his
"40s or 50s" when she was just a teenager. Shortly after the traumatic incident,
Moore says her mother, Ginny, had her assailant help them move into a new place.
Moore wrote that it made her feel as if, quote, "there was nowhere safe to go."
This sent Moore into a spiral of, quote, "smoking,
drinking, and clubbing," beginning as early as middle school. She soon dropped out of school and
moved in with her much older boyfriend. When she was 21, now a familiar face on the small screen,
Moore was cast in the '80s cult classic St Elmo's Fire. However, her addiction to drugs and alcohol
were soon noticed by both the cast and director Joel Schumacher. They gave her an ultimatum: go to
rehab or lose her role in the movie. Moore checked into the Betty Ford clinic at age 21. Moore wrote:
"St. Elmo's will always be the movie that changed my life.
If I hadn't gone to rehab to make that film, I really wonder if I'd still be alive."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues,
help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).