[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Alanis Morissette got candid about a painful experience.
According to The Washington Post, the Ironic singer revealed she was raped by multiple adult men when she was a 15-year-old in Canada and opened up about the difficult journey of accepting that she was assaulted in the upcoming documentary Jagged. She reportedly shared in the film:
“It took me years in therapy to even admit there had been any kind of victimization on my part. I would always say I was consenting, and then I’d be reminded like ‘Hey, you were 15, you’re not consenting at 15.’ Now I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re all pedophiles. It’s all statutory rape.’”
Related: Comedian Kate Quigley Speaks Out After Surviving Suspected Overdose That Killed 3 People
In case you didn’t know, the age of consent in Canada was raised from 14 to 16 in 2008. However, CBC News reports that there is a “close-in-age” exemption that allows intercourse between teens with a five-year age difference “to avoid inadvertently criminalizing consensual sexual activity between young people.”
In the documentary, Morissette did not reveal the identity of her alleged abusers. And while the now 47-year-old musician has talked about the incidents with others in the past, she said her concerns often “fell on deaf ears,” describing it as a “stand-up, walk-out-of-the-room” kind of moment. Alanis explained her reluctance on speaking about the allegations for years was partially out of concern for her family, saying:
“Me not telling specific information about my experience as a teenager was almost solely around wanting to protect — protect my parents, protect my brothers, protect future partners.”
She continued:
“You know a lot of people say ‘why did that woman wait 30 years? And I’m like f**k off. They don’t wait 30 years. No one was listening or their livelihood was threatened or their family was threatened. The whole ‘why do women wait’ thing? Women don’t wait. Our culture doesn’t listen.”
She has a point. The documentary is set to make its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14 and later on HBO. However, the You Oughta Know songstress does not plan on attending the premiere as she is reportedly unhappy with certain aspects of the product.
As you may know, Morissette has been outspoken about sexual abuse in the music industry in the past. Speaking with The Sunday Times, she previously alleged that many women in the business have dealt with harassment, assault, or rape at some point:
“Almost every woman in the music industry has been assaulted, harassed, raped. It’s ubiquitous — more in music, even, than film. What, sex, drugs and rock’n’roll? By definition it’s crass, sweaty and aggressive. But it’s only a matter of time before it has its own explosion of stories.”
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If you or someone you know has been sexually assault, please reach out to the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit rainn.org.
[Image via FayesVision/WENN]
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