Padma Lakshmi was raped at 16, says 'no time limit to talk about sexual assault'
Padma Lakshmi (Courtesy: Instagram/ @padmalakshmi)
Indian-American TV personality, author, actor-model Padma Lakshmi was raped as a teenager. Opening up on her ordeal, Padma in an Op-Ed for The New York Times, spoke of sexual assault citing her own example.
Most recently seen in the 'Top Chef' as the host, Padma said that her first brush with assault, sexual in nature was at the age of 7. She was then raped while sleeping at the age of 16.
In her written piece, Padma narrated being charmed by a 23-year-old boy who she dated. A college student in his prime wooed the 16-year-old Padma as they flirted at her part-time retail job at a mall in Los Angeles. She said, "When we went out, he would park the car and come in and sit on our couch and talk to my mother. He never brought me home late on a school night. We were intimate to a point, but he knew that I was a virgin and that I was unsure of when I would be ready to have sex."
Coming to the night when it all happened, Padma narrated in the piece that on New Year's eve three decades ago, she fell asleep at her boyfriend's houseafter a night out with him. "The next thing I remember is waking up to a very sharp stabbing pain like a knife blade between my legs. He was on top of me. I asked, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'It will only hurt for a while,'" she said.
Padma was unaware of what had happened. She didn’t know whether it was sex or rape. She continued to tell future boyfriends that she was a virgin. "Emotionally, I still was," she wrote.
Padma then explained the assault that happened when she was just 7-years-old. She was sent to India to live with her grandparents for a year when she told her mother and stepfather that a relative had touched her inappropriately and put her hand on his penis. "The lesson was: If you speak up, you will be cast out," the star said.
"I have nothing to gain by talking about this. But we all have a lot to lose if we put a time limit on telling the truth about sexual assault and if we hold on to the codes of silence that, for generations, have allowed men to hurt women with impunity," she ended the piece.
#MeToo movement has gained momentum ever since Hollywood celebs came out with their own experiences before and after joining the entertainment industry.