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‘Westworld’ star Evan Rachel Wood shares powerful letter about being sexually assaulted

She doesn't think 'people can stay silent any longer.'

 

Mehak Anwar

IRL

Posted on Nov 29, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 12:00 pm CDT

Evan Rachel Wood shared a moving letter on Twitter yesterday, discussing the mixed emotions and repercussions of being sexually assaulted and why she’s come forward with her story. 

https://twitter.com/evanrachelwood/status/803354562337865728

In her letter, much of which was discussed in a recent Rolling Stone interview, she describes the guilt, fear, and confusion that came with being assaulted and the lasting impact trauma has on many people’s lives, including her own. Her motivations for the letter, she adds, include the shifting political times. “I don’t believe we live in a time where people can stay silent any longer. I certainly can’t. Not given the state our world is in with its blatant bigotry and sexism.”

Wood identifies as gender-fluid and is an openly bisexual woman. Earlier this year, she posted a video in the wake of the Orlando massacre, discussing, among many other things, statistics about rape, partner violence, and suicide among bisexual women. She told Rolling Stone that season one of Westworld has helped her make peace with past sexual assaults

“I left so much in that first season and never looked back,” she said.

Correction 7:15am CT, Nov. 30: A previous headline on this article misspelled the name of Wood’s latest project; that show is Westworld.

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*First Published: Nov 29, 2016, 2:13 pm CST