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Simone Biles -

Simone Biles was front and center in the media during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. When she dropped out citing concerns for her mental health, it reignited the conversation about abuse within the gymnastics world. Biles was one of more than 150 athletes who came forward in 2018 to speak out against Larry Nassar, team doctor for the United States women's national gymnastics team. Nassar had been sexually abusing gymnasts under the guise of medical treatment for more than a decade. Biles was later asked if this experience had anything to do with her withdrawal from the Olympics. She answered, "Now that I think about it, maybe in the back of my head, probably, yes, because there are certain triggers. You don't even know, and I think it could have."

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Lady Gaga -

In Oprah and Prince Harry's mental health series 'The Me You Can't See,' Lady Gaga shared the harrowing details of her experience with sexual assault. The 36-year-old star was abused by music producers starting at age 19, forced to have sex against her will. She recalled being dropped off at her parents house, extremely ill after becoming pregnant as a result of the sexual abuse. She shared that she used to suffer inexplicable pain throughout her body that mirrored what she felt during those traumatic incidents, but doctors could find no physical cause.

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Lady Gaga -

Lady Gaga even admitted that she went through a psychotic break as recently as 2019, when she won the Oscar for 'A Star Is Born.' She ended her interview on a hopeful note, saying that she has learned how to cope and things are slowly changing. 

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -

In an Instagram live stream on February 1, US Democratic politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez revealed that she is a survivor of sexual assault. The congresswoman spoke for more than an hour, describing her terrifying experience during the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, and opened up about her trauma as it reminded her of some Republican politicians' efforts to make everyone "move on."

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -

"I'm a survivor of sexual assault, and I haven't told many people that in my life," she said, fighting back tears. "The reason I'm getting emotional in this moment is because these folks who tell us to move on, these are the same tactics of abusers," she said about some GOP lawmakers. "When we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other," AOC added. 

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Oprah Winfrey - During an episode of the 'Oprah Winfrey Show' in 1986, the legendary talk show host revealed that between the ages of 9 and 14 she was molested by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend.

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Oprah Winfrey - Winfrey has openly discussed the details of her traumatic childhood with the public. Her story of strength and perseverance has continued to be a source of inspiration for others.

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Mary J. Blige - When she was growing up, Blige was sexually harassed and abused from the age of five into adulthood. The singer has admitted that this made her turn to drugs and alcohol.

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Mary J. Blige - The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul admits that music helped her rise above her circumstances. Blige told the Hollywood Reporter that music helped her "fly away" from all the negative situations in her life.

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Madonna -

During an interview with Howard Stern, the Queen of Pop opened up about how she was raped by a stranger when she was 19. She was ashamed after the incident occurred and never reported it.

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Madonna - When she had just moved to New York, the singer didn't have money for a payphone and a man offered for her to use his home phone. As a young girl, she naively agreed, and that is where the assault took place.

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Tyler Perry - In a revealing interview with Oprah in 2010, the actor/producer told the world he was abused as a child by several adults in his life.

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Tyler Perry - Before the age of 10, Perry was raped by three men and his friend's mother, who held him hostage until he gave in to her sexual advances. He often credits his faith in God as what gave him the strength to move forward.

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Queen Latifah - The rapper/actress revealed in an interview with Essence magazine in 2009 that she was molested by a babysitter when she was five years old.

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Queen Latifah - Latifah stated, “I was a kid, and I had no power or control over the situation. I really wish I’d had the strength and the knowledge to say something sooner.”

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Gabrielle Union - When she was working at a Payless ShoeSource at the age of 19, Union was raped at gunpoint. The actress told her story of redemption on 'The View' in 2014, admitting that she "hated feeling like a victim." Noting the politics of the situation, she also made it clear that she was "lucky" to have had the incident happen in an affluent neighborhood, where the police and crisis center were quick and able to respond.

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Gabrielle Union - During a 2014 interview on 'The View,' the actress shared that she hated "hated feeling like a victim." Union decided to sue the franchise in an effort to take her "power back."

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Gabrielle Union -

Union reflected on the 30 years that have passed since the traumatic incident and revealed on Instagram that she still struggles with PTSD and anxiety. "As a rape survivor, I have battled PTSD for 30 years. Living with anxiety and panic attacks all these years has never been easy. There’s times the anxiety is so bad it shrinks my life," she wrote. 

She implored readers to believe those who open up about their anxiety and not to diminish their experiences, but also reminded us that she doesn't need to be fixed. "I share this as I hope everyone living with anxiety knows they aren’t alone or 'being extra.' I see you, I FEEL you and there is so much love for you." 

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Fiona Apple - Back in 1989, Fiona Apple was sexually assaulted outside of her family's apartment when she was just 12 years old.

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Fiona Apple - The singer and musician has been candid in interviews about how the incident has impacted her life in hopes to help others.

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Marilyn Monroe - Monroe had a tough break early on in life when her mother was sent to a mental institution and she became an orphan. Between the ages of six and nine, the actress was raped in her foster home.

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Marilyn Monroe -

Long before the #MeToo movement, this iconic beauty queen was one of the first stars to openly discuss the issue of sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood.

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Missy Elliot - The rapper/dancer was sexually abused at only 8 years old by her 16-year-old cousin. 
She revealed the details of the traumatic event during an interview on VH1's show 'Behind the Music.'

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Missy Elliot - While she has gone on to achieve great success in the music industry, the experience still haunts her. Elliot stated, “Being molested… it don’t disappear. You remember it as if it was yesterday.”

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Carlos Santana - The Grammy Award-winning guitarist revealed that between the ages of 12 and 14 he was molested "almost every other day" by an American man who helped him cross the border from Tijuana, Mexico.
Carlos Santana was a victim of childhood sexual abuse. Santana went public with his experience to help other victims.

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Carlos Santana - Santana has openly spoken against victim-blaming. He told the Rolling Stone, "The mind has a very insidious way of making you feel guilty: You're the guilty party, shame on you, you're the one who brought this on yourself."

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Maya Angelou - In 1936, the esteemed poet Maya Angelou was sexually assaulted by her mother's boyfriend when she was just eight years.

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Maya Angelou - The experience went on to inspire her autobiography 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.' Just days after her attacker's release from jail he was murdered, which Angelou presumes was done by her uncles.

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Teri Hatcher - The former 'Desperate Housewives' actress was raped by her uncle at the age of five. She testified against him in 2002, and he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

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Teri Hatcher - During a United Nations event in 2004 about violence against women, Hatcher said in tears, "Until violence against women is not a part of any woman's story, silence will not be a part of mine."

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Mike Tyson - In 2014, the boxing champion revealed on the Opie Radio Show that a man kidnapped him off of the street when he was only seven years old and raped him.

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Mike Tyson -

Tyson said that the man "bullied and sexually abused" him, but that after the incident passed he never saw his attacker again.

See also: These celebrities were victims of violent attacks

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