Former “Baywatch” beauty Pamela Anderson said she was gang-raped by seven boys in high school — including her then-boyfriend — and was also subjected to sexual molestation by a babysitter between the ages of 6 and 10.
Ms. Anderson, speaking during the launch of her Pamela Anderson Foundation, said she was raped, too, at the age of 12 by a 25-year-old, NBC News reported.
“My first boyfriend in grade nine decided it would be funny to gang-rape me, with six of his friends,” she said, NBC reported, citing a transcript of her speech that was posted on her foundation’s website. “Needless to say, I had a hard time trusting humans. I just wanted off this earth. I wasn’t sure why I was alive.”
The Hollywood star delivered the remarks during in Cannes, France.
And, she added, the abuse went forth even though she had what she described were “loving parents [who] tried to keep me safe,” NBC reported.
“But to me,” Ms. Anderson, 46, said, “the world was not a safe place — my dad, an alcoholic, my mom worked two jobs waitressing. My mom was always crying. I couldn’t break her heart any more than it was breaking. I kept these events to myself.”
Ms. Anderson then said that animals were her main source of comfort — her “only real friends,” until she gave birth to her own children, NBC reported. Her foundation is dedicated to helping further human and animal rights, as well as environmentalism.
In a tweet, Ms. Anderson said the reason for her emotional speech was to let “people know — they can overcome and prosper with love.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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