During a launch event for the Pamela Anderson Foundation, Pamela Anderson opened up about the sexual abuse she experienced as a child.
The Independent reported that the 46-year-old former Baywatch star shared with guests at the Cannes Film Festival her “most painful memories.”
Anderson addressed the guests in hopes of conveying her love and desire to help animals and only animals, “At the risk of over-exposing myself, again, or being inappropriate, again, I thought I might share with you why I am doing this.”
She proceeded to tell the crowd about how, at the age of 6, she was molested by a female babysitter. Then, when she was 12, she was raped by a 25-year-old older brother of a friend.
The New York Daily News details Anderson's ordeal further, with her explanation of her first boyfriend's involvement in her abuse.
“He decided it would be funny to gang-rape me with six friends. I wanted off this Earth,” she said.
Her life at home wasn't any easier. The actress said her dad was an alcoholic, and her mom worked two jobs. And though her family tried to protect her, the world just wasn't a safe place. For this reason, Anderson explained she found animals were her only real friends until she had children.
The Pamela Anderson Foundation aims to protect environmental, animal and human rights.