May 28, 2019
Ellen DeGeneres Opens Up About Stepfather's Sexual Abuse as a Teen
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
In a new episode of David Letterman's interview Netflix series "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction," the former late night host talks with Ellen DeGeneres, who opens up about the sexual abuse she endured by her stepfather as a young teen, USA Today reports.
In the episode, the daytime talkshow queen says her mother Betty married "a very bad man" when she was a teen. She went on to explain that her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and that her stepfather told DeGeneres that he needed to examine her breasts to check for lumps.
"He told me when she was out of town that he'd felt a lump in her breast and needed to feel my breasts because he didn't want to upset her, but he needed to feel mine," she told Letterman. "He convinced me that he needs to feel my breasts and then he tries to do it again another time, and then another time."
She also said an other intense incident involved her stepfather trying to break into her room, forcing DeGeneres to climb out of the window of her room and run away.
"He tries to break my door down, and I kicked the window out and ran 'cause I knew it was going to go more to something," she said. "And I didn't want to tell my mother because I was protecting her and I knew that would ruin her happiness.
"I'm angry at myself because, you know, I didn't, I was too weak to stand up to (him), I was 15 or 16. It's a really horrible, horrible story and the only reason I'm actually going to go into detail about it is because I want other girls to not ever let someone do that," the comedian added.
DeGeneres said that by sharing her story, she hopes it will inspire women who "just don't feel like we're worthy or we're scared to have a voice and we're scared to say 'no.' "
"That's the only reason I think it's important to talk about it because there's so many young girls and it doesn't matter how old you are," she went on to tell Letterman. "When I see people speaking out, especially now, it angers me when victims aren't believed, because we just don't make stuff up. And I like men, but there are so many men that get away with so much."
The new season of "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction" hits Netflix Friday. Watch the trailer below.
