Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi said in a New York Times op-ed published Tuesday that she was raped by her boyfriend as a teenager, and was compelled to break her silence on the issue after politicians wondered why two women accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct didn’t report it sooner.
… Lakshmi wrote: “On Friday, President Trump tweeted that if what Dr. Ford said was true, she would have filed a police report years ago. But I understand why both women would keep this information to themselves for so many years, without involving the police. For years, I did the same thing.” In a series of tweets before the op-ed piece the TV host said: “I was 7 the first time I was sexually assaulted. He was a relative of my mom’s second husband. I told my folks and they sent me away. The second time I was 16 years old and a virgin. He was my boyfriend. ‘Date rape’ wasn’t discussed in the ’80s. I was horrified and ashamed. The third time I was assaulted I was 23. I thought that no one would believe me, because no one wanted to stand up to him.”