Jessica Simpson made a shocking revelation in her memoir, Open Book. The singer and fashion designer was sexually abused as a child starting at only six years old. The abuse continued until she was age 12. Now, Simpson is opening up about what led her to the decision of confronting her abuser years later.
“I needed to confront my abuser,” she said in an interview with People. The singer describes the experience as “extremely painful and still is. It’s still shocking.” She also said that remembering her younger self was a strong force behind going through with the confrontation.
“That little girl in me wanting to do the right thing, not knowing how to stand up for herself and not knowing how to stop it.”
In her memoir, Simpson revealed that being sexually abused led her to deal with her problems through drugs and alcohol. Like many survivors, she blamed herself for allowing it to happen at the time and felt strong feelings of shame.
“I allowed it to happen, so I felt that I was as much of the abuser as the abused. So I was very shameful during that time, from 6 to 12 years old.”
Simpson then when on to say that the confrontation led to her healing. “It felt good to say it out loud and then it never happened again.” And although her parents couldn’t find the words to talk to her about the abuse, they made sure that it never happened to their daughter again.
Read more about Simpson’s on accounts of the story in her memoir Open Book which will hit the shelves on February 4, 2019.
