Bella Thorne abuse: Disney star breaks down on Instagram after revealing childhood molestation
Actress said shared her experience of sexual abuse in support of the Time's Up movement.
Bella Thorne may not have attended the 2018 Golden Globes, where big names from the world of film participated in the Time's Up protest, but the Disney star has lent her voice to the anti-harassment initiative – which also aims to combat gender inequality in the workplace.
The 20-year-old star – best known for her role as CeCe Jones in the Disney Channel show Shake It Up – has detailed how she fought to regain control of her life being molested throughout childhood.
Taking to Instagram, she explained that the abuse took place "from the day I can remember till I was 14" until she felt lucky to get out alive. She did not name her alleged abuser.
"When I finally had the courage to lock my door at night and sit by it. All damn night. Waiting for someone to take advantage of my life again," she told her 16.9 million Instagram followers.
"Over and over I waited for it to stop and finally it did. But some of us aren't as lucky to get out alive. Please today stand up for every soul Mistreated. #timesup."
She was quickly inundated with supportive messages from fans, with her story encouraging them to share their own experience of abuse.
Thorne, who currently stars as the lead in series Famous in Love, later broke down in tears as she thanked them for their support in a video posted to Instagram stories. "I'm on Twitter reading about all the people sharing your sexual abuse stories with me, from mine, and I just wanna say, I'm really proud of all you guys," she said as she became overwhelmed with emotion. "It's such a... I'm really proud. Stay strong. Peace, I love you guys."
This is not the first time Thorne has spoken out about her troubled past. Back in December, a critic suggested that her career had been negatively impacted because she was molested Tweeting "What did Disney do to this girl?! I think she was molested."
She responded by revealing that while she had been a victim of abuse, it had nothing to do with the network.
