'Families have to protect families and [shouldn't] rationalize violation,' Underwood, who was also molestation victim, disagreed with how the Duggars defended their eldest child.
- June 5, 2015
AceShowbiz -
Sheryl Underwood slammed the Duggar family for largely defending Josh Duggar during their now-controversial interview with Megan Kelly on "The Kelly File". The co-host of "The Talk" said on the daytime talk-show that rationalizing molestation was wrong.
While discussing Josh's molestation scandal with her co-hosts, Sheryl broke down in tears as she opened up about her past sexual abuse experiences. "I'm probably the only person at this table that went through that," she told her co-hosts.
"And I went through that, 3, 4, 5 years old. You know something is wrong. And if nobody listens to you, and nobody's going to stop it, whether I'm asleep or not," she continued. "I didn't sleep, I learned to stay up as long as I could. I may sleep at school, because nobody's gonna protect me. So I have to protect myself."
Growing up as a sexual assault survivor was not easy for Sheryl as it took her years to "have to learn how to love myself because I felt that I was worthless." She added, "I felt that I was less than. I felt that I deserved this or brought it on myself because of what was coming towards me from my parents."
The comedienne said that she strongly didn't approve of the way Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar defended their eldest son during the interview. "These parents are wrong. There's no way you can say this as parents, you're wrong," she said of Jim and Michelle.
"And for the years that I couldn't accept love and I couldn't accept what I was made to have - the beauty of a great relationship with someone who loved me back because I didn't love myself," she added. "Families have to protect families and [shouldn't] rationalize violation."
However, Sheryl thought that the interview at least "helped us, the world, to see what happens to people when they're in some type of family structure when the people you're supposed to trust, to protect you, seem to be your co-conspirator in your violation - seem to rationalize sexual assault and molestation."
She added, "The thing about this that hurts so much is [pauses to hold back tears] you feel that you have no help. You feel that nobody's listening or you're being blamed or this is something that kids do." She concluded her remark, "I thank God for my older brothers who took an action on my behalf."
