Angela Bassett reflected on her childhood this past weekend.
American Horror Story actress Angela Bassett hosted the annual Rape Foundation brunch in Santa Monica this past weekend and got very candid with the attendees when she shared a story when she was sexually assaulted when she was a young girl. The horrible event happened when Angela was 12 or 13 and woke up in bed to find a man her mother was dating touching her inappropriately.
“Fortunately, it wasn’t a complete assault, it was fondling, but it was devastating enough for a child who’s 12 or 13,” she said, according to Variety. Angela was grateful that her mother believed her. “Thankfully, to have a mother who could tell as soon as light broke that this happened and for her to expel him. That she heard me, believed me, and did something about it, I think was so empowering for me as a young teen, as a young woman.”
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Angela detailed further how her childhood experience made her teach her children about the importance boundaries. “I started that early because experiences with friends and I know that they will be in situations one day,” she explained. “When a girl says no, both to him and to her, she means no. Back up. She has to say come here, kiss me.”