Tatum O’Neal: I Was Sexually Assaulted Multiple Times As A Child

Actress Tatum O’Neal, the youngest Academy Award winner in history, has opened up and claimed she was sexually assaulted multiple times as a child.

O’Neal, now 54, posted a letter on Instagram that talked about her attacks, tying it into the recent accusations and recriminations regarding the alleged attacks on Christine Blasey Ford by Brett Kavanaugh, who was confirmed today as an Associated Justice of the US Supreme Court.

In her post, O’Neal said all the assaults were by older men who she thought “were safe.”

Because both her mother, actress Joanna Moore, and father Ryan O’Neal struggled with alcohol and addictions, she was not closely supervised. “When your parents are off getting drunk or high, they are not watching what happens to their children. I suffered years of abuse, both emotional and sexual.”

O’Neal claimed she was once assaulted by a friend of her father and that her mother’s boyfriend tried to rape her.

She also lambasted the President for mocking Christine Blasey Ford.  “To see the President of the US mock a woman, let alone a sexual assault victim, we’ve sunk to a depth of depravity that I never thought the President of the United States could ever sink to,” O’Neal said.

In her 2004 autobiography A Paper Life, O’Neal claimed she was molested by her father’s drug dealer at age 12 and by a family acquaintance at six years old.

View this post on Instagram

M O O D!! I am a woman and i have been sexually assaulted more than once !! It was not my fault when i was 5, 6 12 , 13 , 15. – All by older men who i thought were safe ! I rarely have known safety and was always blamed for for the assaults and,my loudness , and curiosity. It’s taken in me almost 55 years to know how to advocate for myself But I learn fast and here I go!! To see the president of US.Mock a woman, let alone a sexual assault victim. We’ve sunk to a depth of depravity that I never thought the president of the United States could ever sink to you. With uproarious laughter for someone who was assaulted at 15 years old. Whether it was 35 years ago to a 75-year-old man at 15 I remember everything !! It’s time to band together. So this time in history is having a lot of negative impact and Activation-for alot of people like me. there are people will say, I had it coming or it was probably my fault. Or I deserved it -that’s what America has come to you now. Together we fight on for the empathy, and kindness towards one another, whatever your preferences are , whether you’re black or white or conservative or liberal we are Americans and we should always fight for people who have had trauma or who have suffered, and never hurt others for whatever reason. I’ve never seen such a dark time in our country . I was too young to remember 68 – but I feel like we’re headed to something much worse -Before gets better. Let’s,lead with love and kindness and empathy Towards one another.But we , victims the victim of sexual Assault,or violence,must NOT put down our armor.It’s time to fight for one another and each other in this dark time ! America We can do better – we will be better!!’ 🙏🏽🇺🇸

A post shared by Tatum O'neal (@tatum__oneal) on Oct 4, 2018 at 1:57am PDT