The day after the US Presidential election was one fraught with uncertainty for a lot of people and none more so than for actress Evan Rachel Wood. In an interview follow-up email to Rolling Stone, the 29-year-old actress and mum-of-one confirmed she had been sexually assaulted on two separate occasions.
“I’ve been raped. By a significant other while we were together. And on a separate occasion, by the owner of a bar,” she wrote. “I don’t believe we live in a time where people can stay silent any longer. Not given the state our world is in with its blatant bigotry and sexism.”
“The first time I was unsure that if it was done by a partner it was still in fact rape, until too late […] And the second time, I thought it was my fault and that I should have fought back more, but I was scared.”
Evan, who’s previously admitted she started to feel sexually attracted to girls at the age of 4 or 5 and has dated the likes of androgynous Marilyn Manson, eventually came out as bisexual in 2011. However she believes keeping her sexuality a secret until then is what made her a prime target for “physical, psychological (and) sexual” abuse.
“I think I was taken advantage of because someone knew there was something about me that they could exploit.”
She later shared the private email in its entirety on her Twitter page.
However Evan admits starring in Westworld has helped her come to terms with her past somewhat.
“I mean, your demons never fully leave,” she said in an earlier interview with the magazine. “But when you’re using them to create something else, it almost gives them a purpose and feels like none of it was in vain. I think that’s how I make peace with it.”
