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In an op-ed in theNew York Timespublished Tuesday, theTop Chefhost, 48, wrote that she dated a 23-year-old college student when she was 16 because he was “charming and handsome” and would “flirt” with her at her part-time retail job at a mall in Los Angeles. But just a few months into the relationship, Lakshmi says he sexually assaulted her while she was sleeping.
“When we went out, he would park the car and come in and sit on our couchand talk to my mother,” Lakshmi began. “He never brought me home late on a school night.We were intimate to a point, but he knew that I was a virgin and that I was unsure of when I would be ready to have sex.”
Then, she stated: “On New Year’s Eve, just a few months after we first started dating, he raped me.”
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The mom of one shared several details of the encounter, explaining that she was neither drinking nor wearing anything revealing — though “it doesn’t matter,” she asserted — and that she went home with him, fell asleep, and woke up with him on top of her.
“I asked, ‘What are you doing?’ ” Lakshmi recalled. “He said, ‘It will only hurt for a while.’ ‘Please don’t do this,’ I screamed.”
Lakshmi says she felt it was her fault at the time. “We had no language in the 1980s for date rape,” she wrote.
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Lakshmi wrote of Ford andsecond Kavanaugh accuserDeborah Ramirez: “I understand why both women would keep this information to themselves for so many years, without involving the police. For years, I did the same thing.”
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The Bravo star has been politically outspoken in the past, most recently with the defense of the ideology of her friendSusan Sarandon.
After theThelma & Louiseactress, 71,renewed her feudwithDebra Messingand received further backlash from commenters criticizing her support of a third-party candidate in the 2016 presidential election, Lakshmi urged followers to consider others’ opinions and lay off Sarandon.
“I’ve known@SusanSarandonfor a decade,” Lakshmi tweeted. “There are very few actresses who are such dedicated humanitarians and activists. Instead of vilifying someone for endorsing a third party candidate in 2016, why not focus on what you’re doing in your community to create change?”
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TheLove, Loss and What We Ateauthor continued: “Sometimes we have different opinions than our friends or people in our industry but it’s important to have a dialogue to learn and grow. This ‘cancel’ culture and progressive infighting isn’t the solution. Stop bullying Susan.”
source: people.com
