AnnaLynne McCord has revealed that she went through “painful’ abuse as a child and was raped shortly after moving to Hollywood.
The 90210 actress told the July issue of Cosmopolitan that she endured a horrific childhood at the hands of her “extremely religious and conservative” parents, who subjected her to “ritualistic” beatings.
“We would have to bend over the bed, sometimes with our pants down, arms outstretched, and get spanked — with a ruler in our younger years and later with a paddle that my parents bought when they thought the ruler wasn’t strong enough,” she said.
The star said that the experience led to her to “dark and violently dramatic” relationships later in her life and after moving to Hollywood to pursue an acting career aged 18, she was raped by a friend who was staying overnight at her apartment.
“At first, I felt so disorientated and numb, I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. I wondered if I had done something to give him the wrong idea…my childhood had come back to haunt me again. Because of the physical abuse, I didn’t believe there were borders between other people’s bodies and my own. I didn’t believe I had a voice.”
She also revealed that she felt suicidal after the rape and decided to speak out to encourage others and let them know that ‘they have a voice”. The 26-year-old actress has now launched a college speaking tour to talk about her experiences.
“Don’t put yourself in a box. Don’t let the polite lies of society silence you. Honestly, I would endure everything all over again – it has led me to my own revolution.”
