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Ellen DeGeneres on abuse survivors’ testimony: ‘I am furious at people who don’t believe it’

Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is seen here during the 2017 People’s Choice Awards in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, during a taping of her talk show, “The Ellen Show,” DeGeneres opened up about her experience as a victim of sexual assault when she was younger. (Vince Bucci / Invision/Associated Press)
By Nardine Saad Los Angeles Times

With the upcoming anniversary of the #MeToo movement and the testimony of California psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford dominating the cultural conversation, beloved daytime host Ellen DeGeneres has opened up about sexual abuse she experienced when she was younger.

DeGeneres turned into an interview subject on her own show when her guest, the “Today” show’s Savannah Guthrie, recently asked how she felt about this moment in history.

“As a victim of sexual abuse, I am furious at people who don’t believe it and who say, ‘how do you not remember exactly what day it was.?’” DeGeneres said in an interview recorded on Wednesday and will air on Friday.

“What you remember is what happened to you and where you were and how you feel. That’s what you remember. I think anybody who has gone through it, right now is watching this so angry because you know, how dare you not believe us?” the host asserted in a clip showed on “Today.”

The talk-show host’s words come on the heels of President Donald Trump on Wednesday mocking Ford’s testimony during the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh hearings last week, as well as journalist Connie Chung’s powerful Washington Post essay detailing her own experience with abuse.

DeGeneres in 2005 shared allegations of abuse by her stepfather, and during a recent episode of her show, she recounted that the incident happened when she was 15 and voiced her frustration that young girls are “taught not to say anything and go along with it.”

On a lighter note, DeGeneres had Guthrie on her show to promote the anchor’s upcoming children’s book, developments with Guthrie’s crush on tennis star Roger Federer and her instant chemistry with “Today” co-anchor Hoda Kotb following Matt Lauer’s firing over misconduct allegations last year.