Jane Fonda reveals that she was raped and has been victim of 'sexual abuse as a child' in candid interview

The 79-year-old Hollywood star has been outspoken about being abused
Candid: Jane Fonda has revealed that she has been raped
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Jennifer Ruby3 March 2017
The Weekender

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Jane Fonda has revealed that she has been raped and was sexually abused ‘as a child’.

The Hollywood actress, 79, has opened up about the assaults in a candid new interview with Brie Larson for The Edit, saying that she was ‘violated’.

“To show you the extent to which a patriarchy takes a toll on females; I've been raped, I've been sexually abused as a child and I've been fired because I wouldn't sleep with my boss and I always thought it was my fault; that I didn't do or say the right thing,” she said.

In an conversation covering feminism, violence against women and women’s rights, Fonda said that she also knows young girls who have been raped.

Interview: Brie Larson talks to Jane Fonda for The Edit
Getty Images

“I know young girls who've been raped and didn't even know it was rape. They think, "It must have been because I said 'no' the wrong way,” she said.

“One of the great things the women's movement has done is to make us realise that [rape and abuse is] not our fault. We were violated and it's not right.”

Oscar-winner Larson, 27, said that the most powerful thing that she had learnt during her career was being able to say ‘no’.

“I’ve learned the only power I have in my career is the word no. I couldn't choose the jobs I got, but I could say no to jobs that weren't right for me,” she said.

Fonda went on to day that it took her decades to get to that stage, as she got felt that she had to say ‘yes’ to every role.

“Unlike you, Brie, it took me 60 years to learn how to say no,” she said.

“If anyone offered me anything I would say yes. I took parts I wasn't right for and I was taken advantage of. I didn't know how to stand up for myself. N

“Now, I would say, 'No. This is a piece of s***. I don't like the way you're treating me,' and leave.”

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