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Bella Thorne: 'I Was Sexually Abused' Throughout Childhood

Thorne is the latest actress to co-sign the #TimesUp initiative

Actress Bella Thorne spoke out in an Instagram posted Sunday about being sexually abused as a child.

The 20-year-old actress wrote in a photo caption that she was “mistreated” at an early age. Thorne doesn’t name her alleged abuser, but writes that the abuse stopped when she was 14.

“I was sexually abused and physically growing up from the day I can remember till I was 14..when I finally had the courage to lock my door at night and sit by it. All damn night,” she wrote alongside a photo of herself bundled up in a jacket. “Waiting for someone to take advantage of my life again. Over and over I waited for it to stop and finally it did.”

She added, “But some of us aren’t as lucky to get out alive. Please today stand up for every soul Mistreated.” The actress finished her post with the hashtag #TimesUp.

A post shared by BELLA (@bellathorne) on

Thorne is the latest actress to co-sign the #TimesUp initiative, an action plan and legal defense fund that promotes gender and racial parity across all industries.

At the Golden Globes on Sunday night, attendees blacked out the red carpet with fashion statements in solidarity with victims of sexual abuse and harassment.

Weeks earlier, Thorne referenced her abuse in a social media exchange with a follower who asked, “What did Disney do to this girl?! I think she was molested.”

“Yeah I was,” she responded. “So it wasn’t Disney.”

She followed up the tweet by adding, “The world can be a sick place sometimes :/.”

Thorne began acting at a young age, booking guest-starring gigs on shows like “The O.C.” and “Dirty Sexy Money” before finding stardom on Disney Channel’s “Shake It Up.” She’s also dabbled in music, releasing a slew of singles with Zendaya, her co-star at the time.

Like many child stars before her, she later scrubbed away the Disney image with more adult roles in films like “The Babysitter” and “You Get Me.” She currently stars in the Freeform series “Famous in Love.”

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.

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