Even if you have heaps and loads of money with you, it does not protect you from domestic violence. From Charlize Theron to Halle Berry many celebrities have survived domestic violence. This issue is more complicated than many people realize. The territory isn’t limited to physical abuse and it can occur in many different types of relationships.
A licensed psychotherapist Mayra Mendez describes domestic violence as patterns of behaviors that occur within the context of a relationship, such as a marital relationship, a domestic partnership, or even a roommate. The patterns vary from assault to coercion. The intent to maintain power and control over the person deprives the suppressed of love, food, money, and basic self-care. Many victims feel scared and ashamed because of the violence they have endured and it makes things difficult for them to come forward. Now, let us see 10 Hollywood celebrities who are domestic abuse survivors.
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1) Charlize Theron
The Academy-winning actress, Charlize Theron, who is known for her role in ‘Monster’ was a survivor of domestic abuse during her childhood in South Africa. Charles, her father was an abusive alcoholic. One day, after getting intoxicated he came into the house and started shooting aimlessly. Theron’s mother, Gerda, to protect her child shot back and killed him. No charges were passed against Theron’s mother and the case was ruled as self-defense. She told in an interview that she regrets not telling her mother to divorce him in the past. Theron is now a ‘Messenger of Peace’ in the United Nations.
2) Christina Aguilera
The famous singer, Christina Aguilera, felt “unsafe” in her home and “caged” by her childhood. She said that there was violence in her home and that her father was physically and emotionally abusive to her throughout her childhood. In an interview, she told that her bigger purpose is to empower, to encourage other people to find their voices. She has auctioned off her concert tickets and memorabilia to benefit domestic violence charities. The singer also supports the NCADV, Refuge, and the Women’s Centre and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh.
3) Sir Patrick Stewart
The award-winning actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, was also a survivor of domestic abuse by his father, a World War II military veteran. Sir Stewart who was made a knight of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth for his contributions to acting said, “As a child, I witnessed his repeated violence against my mother, and the terror and misery he caused was such that, if I felt I could have succeeded, I would have killed him.” Even when he and his mother called the authorities for help, the authorities would comment that his mother must have provoked him or it takes two to make a fight. The actor is a patron of Refuge and opened the world’s first safe house for women and children escaping domestic violence in West London in 1971.
4) Rihanna
In 2009, Rihanna was dating Chris Brown. Allegedly, before the night of the Grammy, Rihanna found out that Brown was cheating on him. She threw her phone at him while they were driving in a Lamborghini. The rapper beat her, punched her face, and banged her head against a passenger window. Even after getting back home, Brown threatened to beat her, Rihanna then asked her assistant to call the police. Brown was arrested and charged with two felonies. Rihanna later forgave him and they both reconciled briefly even after the domestic abuse. Eventually, Rihanna concluded that she could not change Brown and deserved to be treated better. She then walked away from the relationship in 2013.
5) Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is one of Hollywood’s most successful filmmakers and actors. He was born with the name Emmitt Perry Jr., he changed his name to Tyler Perry to distance himself from his abusive father. his father was an alcoholic and Perry describes him as a man “whose answer to everything was to beat it out of you.” It was not just his father but one of his mother’s friends who sexually assaulted him when he was 10. He notes that his grandmother bathed him in ammonia to rid him of his allergies. Being a survivor of domestic violence, he propagates peace and forgiveness for others who have hurt him.
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6) Halle Berry
Halle Berry revealed in an interview that her mother and herself were abused by her father. Despite her extraordinary success, she says that the scars of the violence still remain with her. “I’ve struggled with self-worth problems. I never had to run to a shelter, but I have at times chosen the wrong partner, and I’ve run out the door if I suspected violence was possible,” she says. These experiences have thought Berry to provide support and shelter to women who are in abusive relationships. She supports the Jenesse Center, a Los Angeles-based domestic violence intervention program that provides services, support, and shelter to women in abusive relationship and their children.
7) Tina Turner
Tina was abused at the hands of Ike Turner, her ex-husband. She shared her story in an interview with Oprah, she opened up about the domestic abuse and said, “He liked to show the public that he was in control and that he was a woman hater. He also liked for his women to get up and walk across the floor for display so that other men could see what he had. I didn’t know how to get out of the whole situation. There were many times when I picked up the gun when he was sleeping.“
8) Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey, singer, and actress opened up to Larry King about her abusive past relationship. She said, “Abuse has several categories, emotionally, mentally, in other ways. I just think you get into a situation, and you feel locked in — if your situation is similar to one of the situations I’ve been in, which I won’t harp on. … For me, to really get out, it was difficult because there was a connection that was not only a marriage but a business thing, where the person was in control of my life.”
9) La Toya Jackson
The singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman La Toya Jackson shared her abusive relationship with her ex-husband Jack Gordon. She revealed, “He felt that he owned me and he controlled me, he abused me, he did all these things to me and I never thought that I would get away…I want women to know that…you can live your life, you can regain and re-own yourself and be free and do whatever you want to do. You can start over as long and as many times as you want until you feel that you’ve gotten it right.”
10) Debbie Morgan
The award-winning actress who starred in ‘Our Kind Of People‘ revealed that three generations of people in her family were subjected to the horrors of domestic violence. In her 2015 memoir ‘The Monkey On My Back’, she shared what she learned from her personal experiences.
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