30 years ago, Brooke Shields’ career was at one of its best moments. The actress had participated in successful projects such as The blue Lagoon and Eternal love, but being the victim of a powerful Hollywood executive changed her perspective about her work as an actress and the power that men have in the film industry. Now, Brooke Shields joins the long list of celebrities who talk about being a victim of sexual abuse, and what she expects after telling her story.
His story is part of the documentary Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby, which is coming to Hulu on April 3. In the two parts that make up the project, the actress delves into how her career was marked by sexualization and the way men looked at her. Shields assures that his passage through prettybaby (where he gave life to a prostitute teenager) and The blue Lagoon caused many to see her as a sexual or fascination object from a very early age. And when she was abused by a powerful Hollywood executive, she preferred to remain silent in the face of the prejudices of the time.
This he commented in an interview for PEOPLE during the promotion of the documentary:
“Nobody was going to believe me. People didn’t believe those stories back then. I thought I would never work again. When you make the documentary you see it all together, and it’s a miracle that I survived. It’s taken me a long time to process it. I’m angrier now than I could have been then. If you are afraid, you are right. They are scary situations. They don’t have to be violent to be scary.”
At the time, Shields was a recent graduate of Princeton University, and according to her words, she was at the “lowest point” of his career, so getting a job was not easy. Gavin de Becker, one of her closest friends, was the only person the actress told what happened. Brooke, she remembers the moment when everything happened and affirms that it was this was very shocking. Her attacker invited her to dinner, and later convinced her to call a taxi from her hotel room; there he attacked her.
“I thought I was going to get a movie, a job. Do not fight. I just froze. She kept repeating to herself: ‘I shouldn’t have done that. Why did I go with him? I shouldn’t have had that drink at dinner. It was very easy to disengage because, by then, he was kind of old. And because it was a fight or flight kind of choice. Fighting wasn’t an option, so you just left your body. ‘You’re not there. It didn’t happen,’” she added.
However, three decades after sexual abuse, Brooke Shields affirms that everything left her a great teaching. Although the first years were traumatic and she experienced certain consequences, the actress hopes that her testimony will join the fight to provide help to those who need it. She wants to be an advocate for more and more truths so that they come to light and they can find some justice.
“I always had a feeling of disassociation with my body. With my sexuality. I was mostly a cover girl so it’s all here,” she said pointing to her face. “And it was easier to turn me off. I was good at it. I share my experience with the hope of helping people not to feel alone. Each one processes her own trauma on a different timeline. I want to be an advocate for women so that they are able to tell their truth, ”she concluded.
Juan Jose Cruz I am one of those who always defended Robert Pattinson as Batman and can see the same movie in the theater up to 7 times. My guilty pleasure? Low budget horror movie.