These Celebrities Have Come Forward About Being Sexually Assaulted Thanks to Lady Gaga
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Lady Gaga's inspiring tribute to sexual abuse survivors at Sunday's Oscars ceremony is inspiring victims to share their stories.
Among those to come forward are Jaime King and reality star Jade Roper, who said they were motivated by Gaga's performance of her Academy Award nominated song "Til It Happens to You," which was written for the documentary on campus sexual assault, "The Hunting Ground."
Jaime King
Late Sunday night, King tweeted that Lady Gaga's performance really moved her after "years of abuse as a minor in the industry."
The day after Lady Gaga's highly lauded performance, 36-year-old King shared a photo from herself at age 14 on Instagram and revealed that she was sexually abused starting at age 12:
After thanking several people, including husband Kyle Newman, Lady Gaga, and sexual assault survivor Lena Dunham, King thanked "all organizations that have tirelessly worked to somehow comfort & make right." She also thanked herself for "not choosing" to turn her trauma into a cover story as at least one person suggested, but to directly share her experience with her followers.
"It's a night of celebration, of change, of not being ashamed of your race, creed color, situation, circumstances and environment, or past," King wrote.
King added that she was also thankful to those who had played a role in "creating a safe space" to discuss past trauma.
Lady Gaga cheered on King's Instagram post by sharing a photo of the actress on her own personal account:
"An angel," Lady Gaga wrote. "Thank you."
Lady Gaga also sent King love on Twitter:
Jade Roper
Roper, a former contestant on "The Bachelor" and "Bachelor in Paradise," wrote in a blog post on Monday that Lady Gaga's performance had a strong impact on her as a sexual assault victim. Roper revealed that she was raped at a high school party many years ago and that she remembers one guy holding her down while another climbed on top of her. They took her home from the party and she woke up with bruises and bloody jeans.
"I never opened up to my parents about what happened, I was afraid of what they would think of me— or worse, that they wouldn’t care at all," she wrote. "I convinced myself I must have deserved it. That this bad thing happened to me because of something I had done. That I wasn’t worth being loved. That I wasn’t worth having sex for the first time with someone who cared about me."
Roper, who is now married to fellow "Bachelor in Paradise" contestant Tanner Tolbert, wrote that it hasn't been easy overcoming her sexual assault, but that she finally realized it doesn't need to define her.
"I am not chained to this experience, it doesn’t have to control my life," she wrote, adding that she's no longer afraid of any feedback she might receive regarding her experiences. "This happened to me and it matters. I matter. And I am worthy of love. The Lady GaGa performance gave me the courage to speak about my story, a story that’s been trapped inside me for over 12 years. I hope that sharing my experience will help girls and women know that they are not alone."
Lady Gaga showed Roper some love on Twitter as well:
