Ellen DeGeneres shared more details about her alleged sexual assault, and she has a powerful message for survivors

Ellen DeGeneres is one of several celebrities who has shared their #MeToo story of sexual harassment and assault. In October 2018, the talk show host also explained the ways that her experience affected her perception of Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony against Brett Kavanaugh. Now, DeGeneres has opened up about her past assault in more detail so that she can help other survivors find strength.

During a Season 2 episode of the Netflix talk show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, DeGeneres shared that her stepfather sexually abused her when she was a teenager, ET Online reports. She said that he used her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis as a pretense to assault her.

"He told me when she was out of town that he’d felt a lump in her breast and needed to feel my breasts because he didn’t want to upset her, but he needed to feel mine," she said.

DeGeneres also explained that she felt “angry” at herself for not standing up to her stepfather. She added that she’s sharing the story about her own abuse because “I want other girls to not ever let someone do that.”

DeGeneres hopes to give other survivors the courage to come forward.

"We [women] just don’t feel like we’re worthy, or we’re scared to have a voice, and we’re scared to say no," she continued. "That’s the only reason I think it’s important to talk about it because there’s so many young girls and it doesn’t matter how old you are. When I see people speaking out, especially now, it angers me when victims aren’t believed, because we just don’t make stuff up. And I like men, but there are so many men that get away with so much."

We believe Ellen and we’re grateful to her for sharing her story and empowering other survivors. You can watch her full interview during Season 2 of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, which will be available on Netflix starting May 31st.

If you have been sexually assaulted or know someone else who has, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.