Actress Pamela Anderson has revealed she was subjected to sexual abuse as a child in a searingly honest speech at Cannes this week.
The Baywatch actress said she had been molested aged six, raped at the age of 12 and gang raped as a teenager during an address to a crowd of 200 people on Friday night at the launch of The Pamela Anderson Foundation. The charity aims to support organisations working "on the frontlines of human rights, animal rights and environmental protection".
"I feel now might be the time to reveal a few of my most painful memories. At the risk of over-exposing myself, again, or being inappropriate, again, I thought I might share with you why I am doing this," she said.
"I did not have an easy childhood. Despite loving parents, I was molested from age six by a female babysitter. I went to a friend’s boyfriend’s house and his older brother decided to teach me backgammon which led into a back massage, which led into rape. My first heterosexual experience. He was 25 years old and I was 12."
Anderson said that her experiences had led to her having "a hard time trusting humans" and instead, animals had become her friends until she had her own children.
"My parents tried to keep me safe, but to me the world was not a safe place. My dad was an alcoholic, my mum worked two jobs, my mum was always crying, dad didn't always come home."
