Busy Philipps and Ellen DeGeneres speak out about being sexually assaulted as teenagers following Kavanaugh hearing
‘It’s sadly the most unoriginal horror’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Busy Philipps and Ellen DeGeneres have recalled being sexually assaulted as teenagers, having been inspired to speak out about their experiences following the Brett Kavanaugh hearing.
Over the past week, thousands of people have been tweeting using the hashtag “#WhyIDidntReport” to explain why they didn’t go to the authorities when they were sexually abused, for fear of being dismissed or not taken seriously.
While speaking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Philipps revealed that she didn’t tell anyone when she was raped at the age of 14, keeping it to herself for more than two decades.
However, watching Dr Christine Ford provide her testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee inspired Philipps to speak out about her experience on social media.
“When I saw her standing there, speaking her truth after 30 years, I was like it’s been 25 for me,” the actor told DeGeneres.
She continued, saying: “It’s sadly the most unoriginal horror.”
Last week, Philipps posted a photo of herself as a teenager on Instagram, writing: “This is me at 14. The age I was raped. It’s taken me 25 years to say those words.”
She explained that she’d only told her parents and her older sister about the incident four months ago, having written about it in her book This Will Only Hurt A Little.
"Today is the day we are silent no more. All of us," she wrote.
"I'm scared to post this. I can't imagine what Dr Ford is feeling right now."
While speaking with Philipps, DeGeneres revealed that she’d also been sexually assaulted as a teenager, at the age of 15.
The talk show host expressed her frustration over the reactions that allegations of sexual assault often receive.
“You just get so angry when someone doesn’t believe you, or say why did you wait so long,” she said.
“It’s because we’re girls, and we’re taught not to say anything and go along with it.”
A number of celebrities, including Cara Delevingne, Sarah Hyland and Mira Sorvino have recently been sharing their stories of being sexually assaulted.
Writing on Twitter, Delevingne explained that she’d had reservations about reporting the incident, as she “didn’t want to publicly ruin someone’s life, even though they privately ruined mine."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments