Last fall, Supergirl star Melissa Benoist surprised fans when she opened up about her experience with domestic violence and now Riverdale star Lili Reinhart is praising the actress. In a new interview with Allure in which the Betty Cooper actress speaks about her own experiences, Reinhart said that when Benoist shared her story, it’s something that made her hopeful and that she feels like opening up helps others understand that they’re not alone, be it domestic violence or other forms of abuse they may be enduring.
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In the interview Reinhart, who is frequently candid about various issues in her life such as body image and mental health, opened up about some of the obstacles she has personally faced, including an assault she experienced well before she landed her role on Riverdale.
“I felt physically pinned down to the ground while someone dry humped me, basically,” Reinhart said. “I think I shared my story…before I had really understood it. I kept thinking of it as something physical, but it was more so a psychological abuse…that spanned a couple of months. I went along with it and was trying to get his approval because we were working together…. I wanted my work environment to be easy.”
She went on to explain that while she’s “locked it away” in terms of some details of her own experiences, Benoist’s sharing of her own story, it’s something that she feels helped others feel encouraged to speak up.
“What makes me hopeful is people like Melissa Benoist sharing her story of domestic abuse with the world, because I think she helped a lot of people by doing that. When people come forward about a sexual abuse experience or physical abuse or them struggling with a disorder, they’re encouraging other people to not suffer in silence.”
Back in November 2019, Benoist took to Instagram’s IGTV and revealed her experience as a survivor of domestic violence — also known as intimate partner violence or IPV. After talking about her experience, Benoist also said that she hoped her story would help others.
“I choose to love. I don’t choose to minimize my life out of fear,” Benoist said. “I choose to love myself, to know that love does not include violence and to let victims know that there is a way out in which you will be protected. If you are enduring what I went through and you see this maybe you will find this tiny straw that will break the camel’s back or at least you might begin to think of your freedom in which case I am here. I am with you and you can and deserve to live a violence free life.”
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
