Sheryl Lee Ralph recently revealed she was sexually assaulted by a famous TV judge, and folks are now throwing out names to guess who it is. Here’s who they’re speculating it is inside…
EMMY winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph has revealed that she has endured “horrible” experiences with sexual misconduct throughout her illustrious career, but has always been discouraged from speaking out.
During a recent interview on the popular “Way Up With Angela Yee” podcast, the star of the hit show “Abbott Elementary” bravely opened up about how a “famous TV judge” once sexually assaulted her during a work event.
The Broadway star made shocking allegations about being sexually assaulted by a prominent TV judge during a business event several years ago. What’s even more disturbing is that Sheryl claims that network executives were present and witnessed the attack, but instead of taking action, they asked her to keep quiet to avoid any negative publicity.
“I’m at a very public place. I was suited. I had my suit on. I was handling my business for the television show I was on at that time,” she shared. “He and I were on the same network. This man walked in, grabbed me by the back of my neck, turned me around and rammed his nasty a** tongue down my throat. And everybody at the network saw it.”
Although the Dreamgirls star didn’t reveal the identity of the judge, she made it clear that it wasn’t Judge Greg Mathis, whom she has nothing but admiration for.
“I love him. He’s a great man,” she said of the “Judge Mathis” star. “Not him at all. He’s a great man. This was another one.”
During an emotional retelling of her experience, Sheryl revealed that she chose to speak out about her traumatic encounter in the hopes of inspiring other women and actors to have the courage to stand up for themselves.
The “Claws” actress was prepared to report the sexual assault she suffered to the appropriate authorities. She even called the former mayor of New Orleans, Marc Morial, who was in office when the incident occurred while she was starring in the hit UPN sitcom “Moesha.” She shared that the mayor came to her defense and offered to send the police to address the situation. However, despite the mayor’s support, she alleges that the network pressured her to remain silent.
“Somebody on the network tapped me on the shoulder saying, ‘Please don’t,’” she shared. “They did not want any bad press around their show, and did not care what had just happened to me.”
“They saw what happened,” she continued. She said network executives said to her, “It’s not that bad is it? Please don’t say anything. We don’t need the bad press. It’s a brand new show. Yours is a new show … It wasn’t so bad after all, was it?”
Sick.
“That’s the kind of stuff that happens,” she said. “That’s what makes it hard for women to speak up about these things.”
She decided to open up about her experiences of sexual assault in hopes of encouraging other women and actors to stand up for themselves.
“Speak up, tell your truth, do not carry the burden of the pain … especially if you feel like it’s something you can’t work through,” she said.
During her interview, Sheryl talked about not making a dime from Dreamgirls, the trauma she endured in private school as a child and her new book, “Diva 2.0.” Get into her interview below:
We’re glad she’s shining a light on the toxic culture of silence that can often prevent survivors of sexual assault from speaking out.
We’re not going to share who we think it is, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a certain Black judge who has been extra MAGA lately. Hmph. A quick Twitter search will pull up the name.
In other news…
The actress/activist has been named one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a prestigious honor recognizing women who have made a meaningful impact in their communities and throughout the country. Watch her feature above.
We love her!
Photo: DFree/Shutterstock.com
