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Alanis Morrissette has been writing a memoir in order to share some of the things she’s gone through with the public – and also to heal from them. So far she’s made some pretty interesting revelations that definitely make me feel inclined to buy the book. She told the Mirror she struggled with both anorexia and bulimia, and that she was the victim of staturoy rape when she was 14 – by a man who was 15 years her senior.
Alanis Morissette has admitted she was raped and abused as a teenager. The Canadian-born singer-songwriter and actress has written an autobiography in which she makes the revelations. She said: “I’m writing a book that will tell my life story. It details some of the things I have experienced and the abuse I’ve suffered. I was the victim of statutory rape and this book will help me get rid of the feelings of shame.”
The abuse was also the reason for her angst-filled songs on international debut album, Jagged Little Pill. The record is the highest selling debut album worldwide in history. She has previously revealed she suffered from anorexia and bulimia after being told at the beginning of her career she wouldn’t be successful if she was fat.
In an interview with the Daily Mirror, she once told how she’d had lesbian relationships after dating a 29-year-old man when she was just 14, and spoke of her experiences with drugs. “My addictions were work and food,” she said. “I smoked pot once in a while, but I’m too much of a control freak to be a drug person.”
[From Mirror.co.uk via Gossip Rocks]
It’s a little hard not to speculate that some of those things involved Alanis’ famed ex, Full House’s Dave Coulier. He’s 15 years her senior. However according to Wikipedia they dated in 1993, which would have made her about 19 at the time. Unless the pair somehow secretly dated for longer than reported, it seems unlikely that the statutory rape incident is Coulier.
However he could still be who she’s referring to when she talks about an abusive relationship. I can’t really tell if she’s talking about one person or not. More than likely it’s several negative experiences, though Coulier is generally considered to be the reason for most of the negative things Alanis sings about on Jagged Little Pill, which came out in 1995.
Alanis has had an interesting life, including becoming “an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church,” according to Wikipedia. She has an open and insightful way of talking, and if the rest of her book is anything like what she told the Mirror, it’ll be pretty revealing.
Here’s Alanis at The Crossing Gala in Geneva, Switzerland on April 8th. Images thanks to Fame.
Written by JayBird
Posted in Alanis Morissette, Books, Relationships
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37 Responses to “Alanis Morrissette says she was the victim of statutory rape”
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Oh that sucks…and unfortunately many of us have suffered the same - but that doesn’t make it “meh”. It’s heartbreaking and life altering and not something to be made light of. Thanks to Alanis for opening up about what must surely be a very painful recollection! Canada loves you Alanis!
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I love her. She rocks.
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I hate the phrase “she admitted she was raped” - as if it was her who committed a crime.
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Meh???? Wow…
Anyway, isn’t the Universal Life Church just an internet ordaining thing? I’m pretty sure my ex-husband did that, took him like 10 minutes on the computer and they sent him a piece of paper.
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I thought dating David Coulier would have been scarring enough.
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Man does she love attention
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Statutory rape implies consent, so yeah. Rape and abuse is one thing but having consentual sex with someone older may be sick, but not the same as being victimized.
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When I was 13 I was with a 26 y/o. Never felt ashamed of it, I was just young, dumb and naive. She shouldn’t have felt that way either. I never had sex with him but it absolutely I was victimized. 2 be that old and be with sumeone that young, there’s clear manipulation all around the board that a younger teen wouldnt have the sense 2 see, let alone really know how to deal with it.
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@TC, statutory rape does not imply consent. It implies sex with a minor.
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Let’s quit splitting hairs here, it’s sex with a person unable to give legal consent.
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Dave Coulier always seemed like a creep to me…its sad when a character called “Uncle Jesse” is the only male on a show who doesn’t make you go ugh.
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this woman has made a career out of being a victim. she’s got a great voice and her lyrics are interesting, but she needs to stop with the pity party already.
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Why do people come up with these stories when their popularity seems to be lacking? Does she really think it has any relevance to the rest of the world? You have tons of money already, Alanis, keep your private life private.
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Something I’ve always figured. Even if you have consentual underage sex later on feelings of shame can become attached to the act and it does affect your sexuality.
Thandie Newton said she had a relationship with a much older person and I don’t even think she was underage but she still had feelings of shame about it.
Doesn’t matter if supposedly the minor “wanted to have sex” it can still be the source of mixed feelings later.
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I lost my virginity to a 30 year old man when I was 15. I wanted it. Or thought I did. I was shy and had never even been kissed. When he told his wife and she confronted me I handled it with all of the aplomb a 15 year old girl could. I never did get over it, though.
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she must have a new album to sell
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It is pathetic that people are saying the abuse and rape that happened is either not serious or just attention-getting behavior. That attitude is why most girls feel they can’t come forward with this information when it happens to them. It makes me sick.
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I agree Anonymous - shaking my head at some of the comments
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Echoing the last couple of comments. And for once, I agree with vdantev. I can’t believe how cruel some people are.
I had sex with someone I didn’t want to who was the same age as me, and I still feel angry and ashamed about it. Technically it was consensual because I didn’t say “no”. But I didn’t say yes either. I felt like I HAD to do it.
When you’re a young teen you feel a lot older than you really are. It may seem normal and not so strange at the time… until the victim grows up and realizes what a creep the other person was.
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Anonymous, it makes me sick too. And people wonder why women who have been raped will most likely not report it? Look at the attitudes shown here.
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It was probably Coulier. How many people does one date who are 15 years older, when they are a teen? Did she date a bunch of guys in a row who where 15 years older?
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I personally am waiting for the Ryan Reynolds is a Pig CD. A failed relationship with Alanis unusally equals album. I do like her though.
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I think Anonymous has said all there needs to be said.
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my reaction is not about her abuse or rape. it’s about her willingness to use them as marketing ploys. that is what is sickening. Alanis has made a career out of peddling her victimization. tell me that she has donated ALL of the profits of her book and album to charity and i might consider changing my mind. for now, it’s all disgusting self-promotion. this is the Hollywood game. don’t be so naive folks.
:roll:
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Not to divert but did she gain weight?
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She wrote a song on one of her later albums (”Hands Clean”) that was about an older man in charge of her career having an affair with her and cautioning her not to tell other people because they wouldn’t understand. Sample lyrics:
If it weren’t for your maturity none of this would have happened
If you weren’t so wise beyond your years I would’ve been able to control myself
If it weren’t for my attention you wouldn’t have been successful and
If it weren’t for me you would never have amounted to very muchOoh this could be messy
But you don’t seem to mind
Ooh don’t go telling everybody
And overlook this supposed crimeWe’ll fast forward to a few years later
And no one knows except the both of us
And I have honored your request for silence
And you’ve washed your hands clean of this -
I was date raped by an 18 year old when I was 14. Then he said if I didn’t stay in a relationship with him, he’d tell my parents. Yeah, nowdays I’d think YOU? I’M going to tell my parents! But at the time, I was young and dumb and scared and ashamed and thought somehow I was “asking” for it. He emotionally strong-armed me into staying with him and submitting to all kinds of sexual practices for over a year until I got the guts enough to leave him, and even then he made all sorts of horrible threats for many years after.
There’s nothing “meh” about that. It has haunted me my entire life.
He should have gone to jail for what he did. But it was the early to mid 80s. Now he has three daughters. I hope for their sake they never run into a huge asshole like he was back in the day.
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I had made a comment similar to Nony M, that this was made known about 5 years ago with the song Hands Clean (must have been the link that put it into spam)I remember hearing it was someone in the music industry.
I would be very wary of bandying about names without any evidence, at the very least you could get this site into trouble.
Sorry to hear the horrible stories some you have.
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Who cares if she is doing and saying all this about being raped - not that she actually is - only because she’s got a new album on the way or ’cause of a book?!
She’s got power in her voice, huge talent and she’s pretty. I think she’s fantastico.
Just think…How many of you have felt sad, terribly sad about something that you are ashamed of? You feel like shouting whatever it is outloud but you can’t…singing is probably the best way to do it.
With a voice like hers you can do or say anything. Shout it out lound and good ridence i say!
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Her music/voice makes me cringe. Just awful. That being said, I certainly wish her the best in terms of coping with past traumas.
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Everyone knows Alannis is a bit…um, “loose” with her morals. She was very promiscuous at a young age, and now that she has a book coming out she claims victimhood. Puh-leeze.
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Elisha,
I’m sorry to hear what happened to you and to others on this forum. I just wanted to let you know that just because you did not say “no” does not mean that you consented.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, “Consent is defined as a voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in the sexual activity in question.” (Section 273.1) The criminal code further outlines the following five specific situations in which consent is NOT given.
Consent is not given if:
The person does not say yes, says no, or through words or behavior implies no
The person changes her/his mind
It is an abuse of power, trust, or authority
It is given by someone else
The person is incapable of consenting (i.e. unconscious, drunk, stoned, or sleeping)Yer Mom,
Alanis’ “morals” are unrelated to whether she was or was not sexually assaulted or abused.
Many survivors of sexual violence find that their sexual attitudes and reactions are impacted afterwards.
Some people may react to having been sexually assaulted by having more sexual activity than they had before the experience; possibly because they may feel that sex is less important to them now or that it is a way for them to regain a sense of power. Other people may react to sexual assault by avoiding sexual activity and isolating their sexual selves, perhaps fearing losing control of their body or feeling vulnerable to someone else.
Experiencing sexual symptoms after sexual assault or abuse is not only very common, but it is also understandable; “sexual abuse is not only a betrayal of human trust and affection, but it is, by definition an attack on a person’s sexuality.” While these effects are not permanent, they can be very frustrating as they can decrease the enjoyment of one’s sexual life and intimacy with others for some time. Fortunately, even if one does not actively work on sexual healing, as the sexual assault or abuse is healed, the sexual symptoms will diminish.
No matter what the reaction after a sexual assault or sexual abuse, it is important to remember that it is part of healing, helping to process what happened to and regain a sense of normalcy.
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I can’t believe some of the comments here: promiscuous, she must have a new album to sell (btw, her new album was out months ago), victimization… It’s obvious you don’t know anything about rape and abuse. You make me sick, you’re pathetic. How do you know she doesn’t donate her money? Of course she does, she’s just not so narcissist to shout it from the hills. Grow up, you people!
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She supposedly had an affair with her producer or something when she was younger. “Hands Clean” is rumored to be about that. If you look at the video of the song, you can see an exec-type guy in an office.
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Yes, it’s sad that many teenagers have been raped. It’s also sad that some teenagers can’t just listen to their parents. How many parents really would approve of their teenage daughter (for the purpose of this paragraph, let us ignore the sons) dating an “older man”? Forget Billy Cyrus, most parents are sane enough and know better to do that. And yet in spite of everything, how many of their teenagers insist that their parents “don’t understand” and that the love they have is “real” and “true” and go on doing whatever it is they’re doing? At this point what can the parents do, really? Lock their teenagers in the basement and watch them 24/7?
Not that I condone those who get kicks out of having sex with underage girls, but I find that in many cases of statutory rape the “victims” are also partially responsible for what has happened. By the time we hit puberty most of us know what’s right and what’s wrong. The fact that Alanis (to cite a specific example) felt that she had to hide this relationship indicates that she knew what she was doing was wrong. So I don’t understand why we’re supposed to treat her as a “victim.” Maybe if she was some little black or Hispanic girl who really had no power it would be a different story, but as it is it takes two to tango, really it does.
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Meh…how many of us had the same experience?
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