Fans praise Bella Thorne for being open about molestation: 'You are literally the realest celebrity'
Bella Thorne got her start at 12 when she was cast on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up. And while the transition away from being a child star into a singer, actress and writer — she has a new book of personal poems called The Life of a Wannabe Mogul: Mental Disarray — was “definitely tough,” she admits it was relatively easy compared to having to hide the fact that she was being abused throughout that period.
“Being physically abused all the time seems like a much more difficult situation than f***ing having paparazzi following you since you were 12,” Thorne tells Yahoo Entertainment during an interview on the BUILD Series stage. “I was still being molested when paparazzi were still f***ing following me. So it’s pretty hard in my mind to think about these big flash light photographs and everyone thinking they know me and talking about me but having no idea the type of mistreatment that I was still dealing with at that time, that everyone around me saw and did nothing.”
“I put anger and sadness and confusion towards a lot of things [in the book],” Thorne admits. “And I hope most of you in this room don’t judge me for it, and if you do, then sucks.”
After posting a clip of the interview to her Instagram, it seems that her fans aren’t judging her for her feelings, but instead praising her for being so open.
“You are literally the realest celebrity. I’m glad you didn’t let society change your outlook on those types of things,” one person wrote, while another said, “You open up so much and make us stronger by your story.”
Many others echoed the support with messages like, “so much respect.”
Thorne first opened up about being sexually abused back in January 2018 when she posted on Instagram in support of Time’s Up. And although she’s talked about it since, she admits that her book has become her opportunity for fans to get to know the real her once and for all.
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
O.J. Simpson denies fathering Khloé Kardashian: 'She's not mine'
Cuba Gooding Jr. accused of sexual assault by 'Girl With No Job' star Claudia Oshry
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