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Gloria Estefan, 64, has revealed that she was sexually assaulted by a member of her “family” when she was nine.
The Cuban-American superstar first spoke publicly about the abuse and its effects on her during an episode of Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk: The Estefans which aired Thursday.
“He was family, but not close family,” she said. “He was in a position of power because my mom put me in her music school and he immediately started telling her how talented I was and how much I needed special attention, and she felt lucky that he was focusing that kind of attention on me. ‘
Estefan, who was born in Cuba and moved to Miami with her family when she was little, revealed the abuse at the top of the show, which starred Claire Crowley, the first Latina Bachelorette.
Honest: Gloria Estefan revealed she was sexually assaulted by someone in her “family” when she was nine, and spoke publicly about the abuse during an episode of her Facebook Watch show, Red Table Talk: The Estefans
Tragic: Gloria was only nine when she was assaulted at music school by a “family member”
In the episode titled Betrayed by Trusted Adults, Crowley spoke about the child abuse she suffered at the hands of a priest.
The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse unless they agree to be named or share their stories publicly.
Sitting at the red round table with her co-hosts – her daughter Emily Estefan, 26, and her niece Lili, 54 – Estefan opened by saying that “93% of abused children know and trust their abusers, and I know, because I was one of them. of them.’
“You’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” her niece said before Estefan agreed: “I did.”
She did not name her attacker but described how she tried to stop him. She said the abuse started bit by bit before going fast and that she knew she was in a dangerous situation after confronting him.
Estefan, who was born in Cuba and moved to Miami with her family when she was very young, revealed the abuse at the top of the show, which starred Claire Crowley, the first Latina Bachelorette.
“He was family, but not close family,” she said. “He was in a position of power because my mom put me in her music school and he immediately started telling her how talented I was and how much I needed special attention, and she felt lucky that he focused that kind of attention on me “
Challenging: Spanish recordings of Estefan’s age nine were played during the show with English subtitles, with Gloria saying, “I’m taking guitar lessons. I like them but the exercises are a bit hard ‘
Gloria recalled, “I told her, ‘It can’t happen, you can’t do this. “He said,” Your father is in Vietnam, your mother is alone and I will kill her if you tell her. ”
“And I knew it was crazy, because at no point did I think it was because of me that this was happening. I knew the man was crazy and that’s why I thought he might actually hurt my mom.
Estefan said she started making excuses to avoid going to music lessons. Her daughter Emily asked if her grandmother had any idea that something was going on, but Gloria reminded her that people weren’t talking about these things back then.
She tried to reach her father, with whom she exchanged voice tapes while he was stationed in Vietnam.
Spanish recordings of Estefan’s nine-year-old were played during the show with English subtitles, with Gloria saying, “I’m taking guitar lessons. I like them but the exercises are kinda. hard. ‘
Gloria recalled, “I told her, ‘It can’t happen, you can’t do this. “He said:” Your father is in Vietnam, your mother is alone and I will kill her if you tell her ”
Horrible: Estefan said she started making excuses to avoid going to music lessons. Her daughter Emily asked if her grandmother had any idea something was going on, but Gloria reminded her that people weren’t talking about these things back then.
Family First: Gloria’s daughter Emily listened to her mother’s abuse story as she joined the discussion on Red Table Talk
Her father said: “Mom told me that the owner of the academy where you take your guitar lessons is very proud of you.”
Gloria: ‘I like notes, but studying notes is a bit boring.’
Her father: “Mom tells me he said you were a born artist.”
Estefan said the level of anxiety caused him to lose a “hair circle”.
“I couldn’t take it anymore,” she said, so one night she ran to her mother’s room at 3am and told her what was going on.
Her mother called the police, but the officers advised her not to press charges because the trauma caused by the testimony would be too damaging.
Crowley and Estefan both said on the show that they don’t like being called victims. Crowley called herself a survivor.
Support: Sitting at the red round table with her co-hosts – her daughter Emily Estefan, 26, and her niece Lili, 54 – Estefan opened by saying that “93% of abused children know and trust their abusers, and I know it, because I was one of them ‘
Painful: Estefan said she didn’t tell producers she was going to reveal her story in Thursday’s episode. No one knew about the abuse except her family, said the singer, who has been married to music producer Emilio Estefan for more than four decades.
Let’s Talk: Clare Crawley also revealed the abuse she suffered from a priest at a Catholic school
Estefan said she didn’t tell producers she was going to reveal her story in Thursday’s episode. No one was aware of the abuse except her family, said the singer, who has been married to music producer Emilio Estefan for more than four decades.
She also said that when her mother started inquiring about this man within the family, an aunt said he had abused her years before in Cuba.
The Associated Press asked the show’s publicist if Estefan could answer some questions, including whether the man was still alive. The publicist told the AP she would not comment further.
On Red Table Talk, Estefan recalled almost going public in the mid-80s, when his hit Conga with the Miami Sound Machine was at the top of the Billboard charts and “that predator, who was a respected member of the community. “, had the audacity to write a letter to a newspaper criticizing his music.
“At that point, I was so angry that I was about to blow everything up,” she said. “And then I thought, ‘All of my success is going to turn into him!’
“It’s manipulation and control, but that’s what they do, they take your power,” she added, also admitting that the fear that there might be other victims lapses her. make you feel bad.
After introducing Crowley and telling him that she didn’t want to sit still while she shared her story, Estefan said she was waiting for the right opportunity and space to tell hers.
“This is one of the reasons I said yes to the (red) table (talking), because we wanted to create this space where we discuss important things that will hopefully make a difference for everyone. those watching out there, “she said.
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