{"id":347054,"date":"2021-10-01T19:05:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T16:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/gloria-estefan-opens-up-about-childhood-sexual-abuse-for-the-first-time\/"},"modified":"2021-10-01T19:05:36","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T16:05:36","slug":"gloria-estefan-opens-up-about-childhood-sexual-abuse-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/gloria-estefan-opens-up-about-childhood-sexual-abuse-for-the-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"#Gloria Estefan Opens Up About Childhood Sexual Abuse For The First Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Gloria Estefan Opens Up About Childhood Sexual Abuse For The First Time
\n<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\nGloria Estefan<\/strong> is bravely telling her story for the first time.<\/p>\n

The music icon opened up about a traumatic experience from her childhood in the most recent episode of Red Table Talk: The Estefans<\/em>. Gloria, alongside niece Lili Estefan<\/strong> and daughter Emily Estefan<\/strong>, welcomed guest Clare Crawley<\/strong> to tell her own story of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest. Inspired by Clare\u2019s admission, the singer decided to reveal her own truth.<\/p>\n

Related: How Jessica Simpson First Spoke To Daughter About Childhood Sexual Abuse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Addressing the episode\u2019s topic, the 64-year-old began:<\/p>\n

\u201cNinety-three percent of abused children know and trust their abusers. And I know this because I was one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After her niece observed that she\u2019d \u201cwaited for this moment a long time,\u201d Gloria agreed:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have. It was someone that my mother trusted. He was family, but not close family. He was in a position of power because my mother had put me in his music school and he immedia<\/a>tely started telling her how talented I was and how I needed special attention\u2026 she felt lucky that he was focusing his kind of attention on me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Recalling how he groomed her when she was nine years old, she said:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe put it in a way of \u2018Oh you\u2019re so good at this and let me teach you\u2019\u2026 it starts little by little, and then it goes fast.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Even as a young girl, she was able to recognize that she \u201cwas in a very dangerous situation.\u201d Estefan explained:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I revolted and I told him \u2018This cannot happ<\/a>en, you cannot do this\u2019 he goes, \u2018Your father\u2019s in Vietnam, your mother\u2019s alone, and I will kill her if you tell her.\u2019 And I knew he was crazy because at no point did I ever think that it was because of me that this was happening. I knew the man was insane and that\u2019s why I thought that he might actually hurt my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Grammy<\/strong> winner remembered inventing excuses not to go to her music lessons, but for a long time, her own mother was completely unaware of the abuse:<\/p>\n

\u201c[Because] first of all, that was not talked about at all in her lifetime. And then my dad was in Vietnam. I remember sending him tapes saying, \u2018Dad, I really don\u2019t \u2014 I\u2019d rather sing songs and I don\u2019t want to do classical music.’\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After her hair began falling out from sheer anxiety of the situation, young Gloria finally ran to her mother in the middle of the night and confessed what was going on. Her mother then called the cops, the Mi Tierra<\/em> artist shared:<\/p>\n

\u201cThen the police came and she said, \u2018This is what\u2019s happening,\u2019 and they told my mother not to press charges because they said that I was going to go through worse trauma having to get on a stand [and testify]. \u2026 And that\u2019s the one thing that I feel bad about, knowing that there must\u2019ve been other victims.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Instead, the \u201cpredator\u201d remained \u201ca respected member of the community\u201d as the Glee<\/em> alum went on to her own celebrated career. But even her early success was somewhat tainted by her abuser:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we had our first big hit with Conga<\/em>, [he] wrote a letter to the paper criticizing my music. At that moment, I was so angry that I was about to blow the lid off of everything and then I thought, \u2018My whole success is going to turn into him.\u2019 \u2026 It\u2019s that manipulation and control, but that\u2019s what they do. They take your power.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Related: AnnaLynne McCord Got Into BDSM Just \u2018To Feel Anything\u2019 After Childhood Abuse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Until now, Gloria had only shared this story with family \u2014 and even her Red Table Talk<\/em> producers were apparently unaware that she would reveal it on the show. She credited Clare\u2019s courage as the reason she decided to come forward, telling the former Bachelorette <\/em>lead:<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to deal with this subject matter because it is so important to try to prevent. I also did not want to sit here quietly while you share and are brave. I knew one day I would share this story. I was waiting for the right opportunity and space to do so. And this is one of the reasons I said yes to the table at all. Because we wanted to create this space where we talk about important things and hopefully it will make a difference to everybody that\u2019s watching out there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Wow. How incredibly brave of both of them to share this vulnerable moment with the world. We appreciate their courage and truthfulness, and hope their stories inspire and comfort those who have experienced similar abuse.<\/p>\n

Watch the entire Red Table Talk<\/em> episode (below):<\/p>\n