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ABC/Rick RowellAngela Bassett is opening up about her “devastating” sexual abuse experience.
In a new interview, Bassett revealed that as a pre-teen, she was taken advantage of by her mother’s boyfriend, who came into her room at night and fondled her breasts.
“Fortunately, it wasn’t a complete assault, it was fondling, but it was devastating enough for a child who’s 12 or 13,” Bassett told The Hollywood Reporter.
Fortunately, when Bassett told her mother, she didn’t hesitate to take swift action.
”Thankfully, to have a mother who could tell as soon as light broke that this happened and for her to expel him [meant a lot],” Bassett continued. “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.”
Now as a mother to teenage twins, Bronwyn and Slater Vance, with husband Courtney B. Vance, Bassett says her focus is to make sure her kids know the importance of boundaries.
“You just want them to be aware,” Bassett said. “They’ll be in situations one day, and when a girl says no, both to him and to her, she means no.”
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