Domestic abuse should be a thing of the past, but sadly it still goes on and many sadly witness it or even experience it for themselves. Finding themselves in a difficult place, these stars have all been exposed to violence in the home and have spoken on how it affected them or how they reacted. Some have since gone on to support charities or become a spokesperson for campaigns with the aim to stop domestic abuse.
Alesha Dixon
Alesha saw her mother’s boyfriend abuse her: ”I think me and my brother were on the stairs, we could hear fighting, we could hear an argument going on and it wasn’t the first time so obviously we knew what was happening. I just remember my mum wanting to escape. I remember the door flying open, mum running and I remember my brother and I just standing there a bit helpless. That’s the thing that stood out the most, we couldn’t help her in that moment. I remember her running down the road trying to get away and the perpetrator was obviously following her and then he caught up with her and my brother and I had to stand on the side of the road and watch our mum. He attacked her. I think for my brother and I what was so difficult was we were so young, we couldn’t help.”
Beverley Knight
Beverley’s ex boyfriend grabbed her by the neck and slapped her, but she instantly fought back: “I went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife and waved it in his face, and said: ‘Don’t you ever do that to me again.'”
Christina Aguilera
Christina saw abuse at home when she was growing up: “I witnessed a lot of unpleasant things – a lot of pushing and shoving and fighting and quarrelling. Growing up I did not feel safe. Feeling powerless is the worst feeling in the world. I turned to singing as an outlet. The pain at home is where my love for music came from.”
Halle Berry
Halle witnessed her mother being abused: “When I was a girl and my mother had the s–t kicked out of her, her self-esteem moved onto me. I devalued myself and thought I wasn’t worth it. I chose partners that mimicked my father. It was only when I was in an abusive relationship and blood squirted on the ceiling of my apartment and I lost 80% of my hearing in my ear that I realized, I have to break the cycle.”
Rihanna
Rihanna was famously hit by her boyfriend of the time Chris Brown. She commented on the headline-making incident: “As angry as I was, as angry and hurt and betrayed, I just felt like he made that mistake because he needed help … and who’s going to help him?”
