Supergirl star Melissa Benoist continues to make headlines with her brave and inspiring performance as the Girl of Steel. And with the fifth season of the show drawing close to the midseason finale, the actress has now taken to social media to address the issue of domestic violence.
In an emotional video posted on her official Instagram page, Melissa opened up about her personal experience as a domestic violence survivor, beginning her account by saying:
“I am a survivor of domestic violence or intimate partner violence, which is something I never thought I would say let alone be broadcasting into the ether.”
She refused to name the alleged abuser but described the incidents of her destructive entanglement. According to Benoist, emotional manipulation began a couple of months into the relationship and continued with instances of physical abuse. The first time it happened, the man threw a smoothie at her face and the bottle smacked her cheek. In another heated fight, the partner threw an iPhone at her, breaking her nose and almost puncturing her eyeball.
But it doesn’t stop there, as the actress who’s been portraying Kara Danvers in the Arrowverse for more than five years continued to recall the horrid details of her abusive and emotionally devastating relationship.
“The stark truth is I learned what it felt like to be pinned down and slapped repeatedly, punched so hard I felt the wind go out of me,” She said. “Dragged by my hair across pavement, head-butted, pinched until my skin broke, shoved against the wall so hard the drywall broke, choked.”
This also affected her career in more ways than one. Apparently, the perpetrator would snoop around on her phone and become angry or ‘jealous’ when she talked to other men.
“Work in general was a touchy subject, he didn’t want me ever kissing or even having flirtatious scenes with men which was very hard for me to avoid. So I began turning down auditions, job offers, test deals, and friendships because I didn’t want to hurt him.”
Benoist closed her story by supporting other victims and calling them to action.
“I want the statistics to change and I hope that telling my story might prevent more stories like mine from happening,” She states.
Following this fearless recounting of events, executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter released statements admiring Melissa’s bravery in coming forward and speaking about her personal experience with domestic violence.
The Girl of Steel is set to appear in “Crisis On Infinite Earths” which promises to be one of the biggest crossover events in the history of television and comic book adaptations. But before that, make sure to catch the next episode of Supergirl on December 1st.
