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America Ferrera is joining those using the hashtag #MeToo on social media to share her story of sexual assault that happened when she was just 9 years old.
Over the weekend, Alyssa Milano began encouraging women to use the hashtag on social media if they've ever been victims of sexual harassment or assault, and many fellow Hollywood stars -- including Lady Gaga, Evan Rachel Wood, Rosario Dawson and Debra Messing -- flooded both Twitter and Instagram with their personal stories. Milano said she started the trend with the hope of giving "people a sense of the magnitude of the problem."
"Me too," Ferrera shared on Instagram Monday night. "First time I can remember being sexually assaulted, I was 9 years old. I told no one and lived with the shame and guilt, thinking all along that I, a 9 year old child, was somehow responsible for the actions of a grown man. I had to see this man on a daily basis for years to come. He would smile at me and wave, and I would hurry past him, my blood running cold, my guts carrying the burden of what only he and I knew -- that he expected me to shut my mouth and smile back."
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View StoryFerrera added, "Ladies, let's break the silence so the next generation of girls won't have to live with this bullshit."
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The #MeToo movement is in direct response to the recent sexual harassment allegations, from at at least 25 women, against disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein. By early Monday, more than 200,000 #MeToo tweets were published under the hashtag.
Weinstein's lawyer denied many of the more serious sexual misconduct allegations against the movie mogul in a statement reading: "Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances."
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