Vanessa Williams reveals in her memoir, You Have No Idea, she was molested at the age of 10 by an 18-year-old who was the child of a close family friend.
She recounts the ordeal with People Magazine:
“Family friends who had a daughter invited me to visit their friends in California with them. The family we stayed with had two kids. Susan, who was 18, smoked, drove a car, and was the epitome of cool. (My friend) Nancy and I slept in the den. One night Susan crept in.”
“She told me to lie down on the rug. I was confused. Are we going to play a game? As I tried to make sense of it, Susan pulled down the bloomers of my cotton baby-doll pajamas.”
“‘What are you doing?’ I asked. ‘Don’t worry – it’ll feel good.’ I lay there paralyzed. What was going on? I didn’t speak. She kept at (the molestation) for I don’t know how long. She slid my bloomers back up and whispered: ‘Don’t tell anyone.’ I climbed into my bed, trying to figure out what had just happened.”
“‘What are you doing?’ I asked. ‘Don’t worry – it’ll feel good.’ I lay there paralyzed. What was going on? I didn’t speak. She kept at (the molestation) for I don’t know how long. She slid my bloomers back up and whispered: ‘Don’t tell anyone.’ I climbed into my bed, trying to figure out what had just happened.”
She tells People Magazine she is now in a much better place.
“I don’t dwell (on the past).”
What a terrible and horrific occurrence to have to go through and deal with as a child.
On Becoming the First Black Miss America:
I had no emotion. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t excited. I wasn’t there. I just smiled and waved. Some didn’t think I was black enough. My mother received death threats.
You can read more of Vanessa life in her book, You Have No Idea in bookstores April 17th
