Bella Thorne Explains Why She Came Forward With Her Sexual Abuse Story

Bella Thorne shocked her fans when she revealed in January that she was a victim of sexual abuse.

During a recent interview (via E! News), Thorne said that she’s been thinking about sharing her story, but was hesitant to do so for fear that other people would judge her for it. After she confirmed the abuse on social media, Thorne contemplated on whether or not she should delete it. But her manager told her to just let the confession stay there because there’s nothing wrong with it.

“He was like, ‘Is it bad? Bella, there’s nothing bad about this. This is good. You are not any less of a person because this has happened to you.’ It was one of the first times that someone had actually said that to me since it happened and it really meant the world to me,” she said.

Thorne also opened up about her time with Disney Channel and said that the family network somehow mistreated her. Years ago, Thorne shared a photo of herself wearing a bikini, and the network didn’t like it because she was part of a wholesome show for teens.

“They said, ‘You’re lucky that Bella has such a fan base that we can’t afford to fire her at this moment in time but if she does one more other thing, we will,’” the network told Thorne’s manager.

After “Shake It Up” wrapped up five years ago, Thorne also had a hard time finding shows to audition for. “I had made good with these casting directors already so it was like, ‘Woah, what the [expletive]? Just because I was on the Disney Channel?’ It’s definitely when nothing is handed to you, you’re always scraping for it,” she said.

Meanwhile, Thorne also made headlines last month after she offended Rob Lowe and several others over her comment about the California mudslides. In her deleted tweet, Thorne said that she’s upset over the heavy traffic without knowing that there was a mudslide taking place at that time.

Thorne later on apologized for her tweet, but Lowe accused her of being a diva.