Ben Vereen, best known for his role as “Chicken George” in Roots and as a superb Broadway dancer, revealed that he developed an extremely heavy cocaine addiction that was kicked into overdrive after the sudden death of his 16-year-old daughter, Naja. In prior interviews with People Magazine and Ability Magazine, the details and hardships that followed Vereen were revealed.

Details Of His Daughter’s Death And The Accident That Almost Claimed His Life

Naja was killed in a car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike when a truck overturned on her car one night in 1987. Ben was at the height of his career and that was one heartache that he could not soothe on his own, so he started to heavily self medicate and he ultimately fell deep into his ‘medication.’

Vereen was probably still dazed from his earlier car accident that night and stumbled onto the road on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Foster swerved to avoid him, but Vereen darted out in the same direction of Foster’s car, causing Foster to hit him. That hit hurled Vereen 40 feet in the air, he rolled for another 50, and then he landed on the road. Vereen then had a stroke, suffered a brain injury as a result, and that’s where he was forced to start pulling himself out of his addiction from the pain of losing Naja.

Vereen explained how his daughter passed away on December 21, 1987, but he still had to put on a front for the world as he continue to do public appearances and performances. One of those appearances being just about a week and a half after Naja’s tragic death:

“On New Years Eve I was wishing the world a Happy New Year’s (on a New Year’s Day TV show) and I was dying inside.

If it were up to me—I know the impact of the pain I suffered—I would have said bye, but something greater than me said no.”

Vereen had a thracheotomy inserted into his wind pipe to help him breathe and over that next year he had to learn to walk and feed himself again, but he pulled through…drug-free.

Embed from Getty Images

As for producer/composer David Foster, he had a tough time recovering after Vereen’s accident and he ultimately had to see a psychologist to help with the flashbacks of the accident. Foster said, “My recovery was totally tied into Ben’s. Every little tidbit of news we got [about Ben’s recovery] was like a feast.” Two months after Ben’s accident, he called Foster and said “David? “Good hit!” LOL. After visiting Vereen in the hospital several times, David Foster ended up writing a song for Ben titled, “Live Each Day.”

Vereen On How He Moved Past His Pain

Here’s what Vereen explained about his addiction and moving past the pain he suffered:

Ben Vereen: We all have lessons we have to learn and they hit us at various times in life. But when we get the lessons, we can either lie there and pity ourselves in that place of pain or we can move on to the next lesson. Life is lived on very thin ice, and it all depends upon you. You never know when the ice is going to break and they’ll have to reach down there to pull you back.

Interviewer: So you’re thankful if you learn how to swim early.

BV: (laughs) Yes. It’s always good to give praise and thanks. It’s hard sometimes because we deal with our human problems, but we must also remember we are really spiritual beings experiencing a human incarnation. Giving praise is not a religious thing, it’s a spiritual thing. There are many trails to the top of the mountain but there is only one mountaintop. Let’s get up to the mountaintop together so we can all sing and dance.

“The universe,” Ben says smiling, “is very good.”

When Vereen recovered, he began working toward turning the New York home he grew up in, into a drug rehab center for youths. He also created his foundation called Celebrities for a Drug-Free America where he asked his celebrity friends to donate hundreds of thousands of their dollars to help their communities and fight drug addictions.

Source: People.com; Ability Magazine

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, Old School news with a new point of view

The post “Roots” Star Ben Vereen Shared Sad Family Tragedy That Sparked His Heavy Drug Addiction appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Two actresses have just come forward, in interviews with New York Daily News and OnStage, claiming that the legendary actor/dancer sexually assaulted them during the “Hair” stage play auditions in 2015.

When I first heard this, my reaction was, ‘Noooo, not “Chicken George,” too!’ But yep folks, “Chicken George” from Roots a.k.a. Ben Vereen has allegedly dipped his hands in cookie jars where they were not welcomed. His accusers’ claims have pretty much been confirmed by Vereen, because he issued a apology for his actions.

Accusers’ Claims

On January 5, 2018, several actresses stated that during auditions and rehearsals for the Tampa, FL based stage play, directed by Vereen, he’d planted forced kisses on them, pressed his erect penis up against them, coerced them to get naked for him and more.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=398282220588194&set=pb.100012192571169.-2207520000.1515285069.&type=3&theater

Two of the women- Kaitlyn Terpstra (pictured above) and a woman who only wanted to be identified by her first name, Kim (not pictured- made several claims against Vereen. In their interviews, they stated that Vereen convinced them to not only get naked, but also step into his backyard hot tub during ‘private rehearsals’ at his home. They said that the rehearsals were supposed to be a way to get them acclimated for the stage play’s nude scene, but that things took a turn when Vereen allegedly came onto them.

Check out some of their claims below:

Via NYDailyNews: “He gave this whole speech about how nudity was not inherently sexual. ‘That’s not what it’s about.’ He made me feel that if I wasn’t mature enough to understand that, I wasn’t mature enough to be in ‘Hair,’” Terpstra told The News. “He basically told both of us, ‘Get over yourself. Nudity doesn’t have to be sexual.’ If we asked questions or hesitated, we were the ones making it weird,” Kim said.

They also claimed he used emotional triggers -that are sometimes used to help actors get into their roles during rehearsals- to take advantage of their minds and psyches:

NYDN: “He was acting as my mentor, asking me about my parents, then that same night, he put me on his lap while I was crying, and I felt his erection,” Terpstra recalled. “He asked me, ‘Feel that?’ It was terrifying. I said, ‘Feel what?’ I wanted to act like I didn’t. I pushed myself off with a laugh. Then later, he asked, ‘Do you think I want to f–k you?’ I said ‘Yes,’ and he got angry. He said, ‘Well, I don’t, and that’s unfortunate.’ He made me feel like I had my mind in the gutter.”

For Kim, her story turned out a tad bit differently. She says she willingly performed oral sex on Vereen during one of the private rehearsals. She also said that she ultimately entered into a relationship with him, but that she had her reservations because he’d reportedly forced himself onto her:

Kim said during her time in the hot tub, things went even further. He asked her to perform oral sex on him. She passively obliged, feeling “confused,” she said. “I just think at the time, I didn’t feel like I had a choice. I didn’t want to do it, but I was intimidated and scared. He was being very intense and angry. He seemed very angry and offended. I had seen him behave this way toward others in the tribe during circle,” she told The News. “I just felt powerless because I thought I really needed his help and guidance. And when he said nudity doesn’t have to be sexual, I was like, ‘OK, maybe this isn’t even sexual,’ ” she said. “Now I understand it was a power play. It was so calculated. It was like we were putty in his hands.”

Ben Veren’s Apology To Accusers

Now, Ben Vereen (71) has issued a public apology to the actresses, who were both in their 20’s during the time of the reported sexual incidents. Here’s what he stated in a lengthy Facebook post:

https://twitter.com/BenVereen/status/949336425438224384

Thoughts ILOSM fam?’

The post Ben Vereen Apologizes After Young Actresses Make Graphic Sexual Assault Claims Against Him appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

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Ben Vereen

Naja was killed in a car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike when a truck overturned on her car one night in 1987. Ben was at the height of his career and that was one heartache that he could not soothe on his own, so he started to heavily self medicate and he ultimately fell deep into his ‘medication.’

Five years later, he too, almost died of the same fate as his daughter. After Vereen’s car hit a tree earlier that night, he was walking along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and was hit by a car that was being driven by the well-known Grammy-winning producer/composer David Foster (who was returning home from a Hollywood studio after working on a Michael Bolton album that night and has since worked with everyone from Whitney Houston to Mary J. Blige).

Embed from Getty Images

Vereen was probably still dazed from his earlier car accident that night and stumbled onto the road on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Foster swerved to avoid him, but Vereen darted out in the same direction of Foster’s car, causing Foster to hit him. That hit hurled Vereen 40 feet in the air, he rolled for another 50, and then he landed on the road. Vereen then had a stroke, suffered a brain injury as a result, and that’s where he was forced to start pulling himself out of his addiction from the pain of losing Naja.

Vereen explained how his daughter passed away on December 21, 1987, but he still had to put on a front for the world as he continue to do public appearances and performances. One of those appearances being just about a week and a half after Naja’s tragic death:

“On New Years Eve I was wishing the world a Happy New Year’s (on a New Year’s Day TV show) and I was dying inside.

If it were up to me—I know the impact of the pain I suffered—I would have said bye, but something greater than me said no.”

Vereen had a thracheostomy inserted into his wind pipe to help him breathe and over that next year he had to learn to walk and feed himself again, but he pulled through…drug-free.

As for producer/composer David Foster, he had a tough time recovering after Vereen’s accident and he ultimately had to see a psychologist to help with the flashbacks of the accident. He said “My recovery was totally tied into Ben’s. Every little tidbit of news we got [about Ben’s recovery] was like a feast.” Two months after Ben’s accident, he called Foster and said “David? “Good hit!” LOL. After visiting Vereen in the hospital several times, David Foster ended up writing a song for Ben titled, “Live Each Day.”

Embed from Getty Images

Here’s what Vereen explained about his addiction and moving past the pain he suffered:

Ben Vereen: We all have lessons we have to learn and they hit us at various times in life. But when we get the lessons, we can either lie there and pity ourselves in that place of pain or we can move on to the next lesson. Life is lived on very thin ice, and it all depends upon you. You never know when the ice is going to break and they’ll have to reach down there to pull you back.

Interviewer: So you’re thankful if you learn how to swim early.

BV: (laughs) Yes. It’s always good to give praise and thanks. It’s hard sometimes because we deal with our human problems, but we must also remember we are really spiritual beings experiencing a human incarnation. Giving praise is not a religious thing, it’s a spiritual thing. There are many trails to the top of the mountain but there is only one mountaintop. Let’s get up to the mountaintop together so we can all sing and dance.

“The universe,” Ben says smiling, “is very good.”

When Vereen recovered, he began working toward turning the New York home he grew up in, into a drug rehab center for youths. He also created his foundation called Celebrities for a Drug-Free America where he asked his celebrity friends to donate hundreds of thousands of their dollars to help their communities and fight drug addictions.

Source: People.com; Ability Magazine

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, Old School news with a new point of view

The post Ben Vereen Tells Heartbreaking Family Tragedy That Caused His Heavy Drug Addiction appeared first on I Love Old School Music.