Ellen Degeneres is claiming she was sexually assaulted by her mother's new husband when she was a teenager.
The Ellen Show host reportedly shared her story during an appearance on Netflix's My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
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According to Entertainment Tonight, DeGeneres says her mother married a "very bad man" who used his wife's breast cancer diagnosis to prey on her daughter.
"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," Degeneres reportedly told Letterman.
"He convinced me that he needs to feel my breasts, and then he tries to do it again another time, and then another time."
The 61-year-old TV icon also recounted an incident where her stepfather tried to break into her bedroom, forcing her to flee out the window.
"[I knew] it was going to go more to something," she said.
DeGeneres said she hid the abuse for years before telling her mother. She explained that she wanted to go public with her story in the hopes that it might help young women at risk.
"I'm angry at myself because, you know, I didn't - I was too weak to stand up to - I was 15 or 16," Degeneres said.
"It's a really horrible, horrible story and the only reason I'm actually going to go into detail about it is because I want other girls to not ever let someone do that."
DeGeneres said her mother Betty did not believe her when she was told of the assault. She remained married to the man for another 18 years.
"I always have taken care of her my whole life," DeGeneres is said of her relationship with her mother.
"So I just kept taking care of her. I didn't really let it get to me. Until recently, I kind of went, 'I wish I would have been better taken care of. I wish she would have believed me.' And she's apologetic, but, you know."
Season two of Letterman's Netflix show, which also features interviews with Kanye West and Tiffany Haddish, will be released on Friday May 31.
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