For many years, former “Different Strokes” star, Todd Bridges,’ name was synonymous with drugs, jail, child-star-gone-wild, and any other negative connotation you could think of…most of which was true. For years, many judged him, but there is a reason for his wild past. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey a few years ago, Todd tearfully explained what that reason is. Todd Bridges’ many problems all stem from the horrific sexual abuse he endured as a child and by that time, he was already a professional actor. He and his mom spoke out about just how bad things actually got between them and his sexual abuser (whom they also named). But what Todd said his Dad did AFTER he found out his son had been abused, was even worse, according to Todd.

BRIDGES RECALLS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER MOLESTER ABUSED HIM…

Todd Bridges revealed that he was sexually abused by his then male mentor/publicist. According to Todd, ‘Mr. Child molester’ used to push  him to ignore the many girl fans who adored him at age 11 and then the molester eventually proceeded to sexually abused Todd. Here’s what happened when Todd discussed this on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”:

Via Starpulse: Bridges started reading [a page from his book, “Killing Willis”] and lost his composure as he fought back tears: “He pulled my pants down. He put his mouth on me and I got hard. I didn’t know where to look or how to feel. I squirmed against the back of the seat… I hoped it would be over fast. That’s what happened; I came.”

He added, “As I confessed and I was upset about it, I liked the way that it felt. I didn’t think about whether or not it was wrong.” [Bridges] held his head in his hand and started crying as he put the book down and told Winfrey, “I’m past it but it still hurts because it ruined my life. I spent the rest of my time trying to cover up how I felt about it, that pain.”

Over time, Todd started lashing out at his molester and would get real violent, which raised red flags for his Mom:

Bridges…revealed his molester, a man named Ronald, tried to take the place of his father – and he had confusing moments where he just attacked the man who stole his innocence. The actor’s mother, who was in [Oprah’s] studio audience, revealed her son’s strange behavior struck a chord with her – because she had been molested as a child, also. Bridges explained, “My mother took me off of him. I think she knew right away what had happened.” -Starpulse

After his Mom quickly connected the dots, she innately reacted to protect her baby. She instantly picked up a knife, threatened the molester and chased him the hell out of her house! Then she called Todd’s dad and that’s when it went from BAD to WORSE…

‘MY DAD DIDN’T BELIEVE ME AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT’

Immediately after Todd’s mom chased the molester out of her house, she called Todd’s biological father and what he said to him next is something that cut Todd to the core. Todd said his Pops did NOT believe him when he got on the phone and told him the man had been sexually abusing him:

“That really destroyed me because my father was supposed to be my protector. He didn’t protect me,” Bridges told Oprah. Then he broke down again and said,  “He allowed this man to do this to me and didn’t help me. I have kids today (and) if my kids told me that, I’m going to jail; that guy’s dead. There’s no way he’s gonna live,” Bridges confessed.

Todd Bridges definitely earned my respect for being so forthcoming about what that monster did to him back in the day. At this point, I’m conflicted about who’s more of the monster though – his molester, or his pops? Real talk.

Then we wonder why some kids grow up to be jacked up adults…SMH. Much respect to Mr. Bridges for helping others by sharing his story.

The post Todd Bridges Boldly Revealed How He And His Mother Got Revenge On His Abuser appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

He’s definitely had his fair share of ups and downs, throughout his  56 years. He recalled one such ‘down’ in his autobiography, Killing Willis, which was one of the scariest incidents of his life. It almost got him killed by police and caused his mentor, attorney Johhnie Cochran, to threaten him like he’d never done before.

What Todd Bridges Revealed Is Where Many Fans Never Thought He’d End Up

It Started With A Woman Being His Downfall: “The high was so good, I came”

Todd Bridges says an old friend named Joelle- ‘a voluptuous White woman’ called him outta the blue one day:

“She was the one who got me hooked on methamphetamine. The first time she ever shot me up with meth, the high was so good, I came.”

She Called For Help & He Hoped For A Sexual Favor In Return…

He Willingly Obliged Her Request For Drugs

They had an “intense” sexual past, so when she asked him to ‘get her a sixteenth of speed,’ he hoped she’d give him a sexual favor:

“Her voice was real flirty-like. …Girls who needed drugs would do anything. That’s how I liked it.”

What Happened Next Was Like A Movie…

Cops Spotted Him

Even though Bridges was no longer an addict, he still copped the drugs for Joelle in Burbank, CA.. When he was on his way to deliver the good to Joelle, the cops started following. Spooked, he initially lost them. That’s When All Hell Broke Lose…

Unbeknownst to Todd, his Moms then received a frantic call from her friend, alerting her cops ran into a nearby store asking her if they’d seen him. His Mom left a message for him at home:

“Whatever you’re doing, stop it now. The police are looking for you.”

The Life-Threatening Traffic Stop That Nearly Killed Bridges

Todd continued:

“As soon as I heard the siren, I knew they had me. I pulled over. …’Get out of the car, right now!’ one of the officers yelled at me, his gun drawn. …Officers from the other squad cars…stood at the ready, legs wide, guns drawn. A drug dog barked and tugged at its leash. I had been through this before.”

‘I Wanted To Commit Suicide By Cops’

“I couldn’t face it all over again. I was totally demoralized,” wrote Todd Bridges. So, he contemplated grabbing his hidden 9mm gun to make the cops kill him:

“‘Forget it,’ I thought. ‘Just kill me now, because I’m tired of this life anyway.’ …I was ready for it all to end.”

He Decided To Comply, But Realized ‘Who Set Him Up’

“This was not how I wanted to end it. I wanted to live. I let go of my gun and closed up the secret compartment. …Now that I didn’t want to die, I was scared that they were going to kill me.”

When Todd got out the car with hands up, he says the cops and drug dog “ambushed” him to the ground. He realized Joelle ‘set him up.’ Todd Had An Unexpected Reaction…

His Arrest Was A ‘Sense Of Relief’

TB: “When they cuffed my arms behind my back, I knew it was all over. As they put me in the back of a squad car, I actually felt a sense of relief. …Now I had a chance at something better, if I could only hold it together this time.”

But Then Johnnie Cochran Stepped In With A Threat…

Cochran Threatened Bridges: “I’m done. Don’t call me. Don’t be my friend.”

TB: “Johnnie [Cochran] came down and sat next to me in the cell. …’This is the last time I’m going to help you with anything. If you don’t straighten your life out, I’m done. Don’t call me. Don’t be my friend. I don’t need you in my life if you can’t straighten yourself out.'”

Cochran Was ‘More Of A Father’ To Bridges Than His Real Father

TB: “Johnnie…had represented me in my attempted-murder trial in ’89. …And when my own father didn’t visit me, even once, while I was in jail for nine months…Johnnie had been like a father to me. The thought of not having him there to help me anymore filled me with panic.”

Bridges Soon Betrayed Cochran’s Trust…

He Got REALLY High After Cochran Bailed Him Out

Johnnie helped bail Todd out a few days later, but Todd confessed that he immediately got higher than he had in a long time after getting out.
Here’s Where Todd Bridges Is Now…

Clean & Sober…With Just One Recent Incident Under His Belt

Today at 56, Todd Bridges is reportedly clean and sober. In more recent years, Todd only made headlines for getting knocked out on camera, as he tried to help his female neighbor evict unruly tenants from her home.

Best wishes to the brotha going forward.

The post After Nearly Being Shot By Cops, Todd Bridges Tells Why Johnnie Cochran Once ‘Threatened’ Him appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

“Willis'” and “Charlene’s” romance wasn’t just an on-screen acting gig for Todd Bridges and Janet Jackson…it was realer than we thought back in the day, when we were watching their teen love on “Diff’rent Strokes.” It turns out Todd (then 17) and Janet (then 16) dated at that time, but it was Todd who ultimately decided to reject Janet and end things, but he had a very good reason for it.

In a past interview on the “Today Show,” Todd revealed that he and Janet were really diggin’ each other, but when Janet started making more aggressive advances toward him he backed away from her. I guess she wasn’t in that “Let’s Wait Awhile” frame of mind back then, LOL…I joke I joke, I kid I kid!.

Moving On…

Todd said although he and Janet were REALLY “in love” with each other, he had to reject her because he was doing what most teen boys would do in his position with a million groupie females chasing after them, willing to do any-and-everything they wanted…he was hookin’ up with chicks and then moving on to the next one…and the next one…and the next one. So Todd confessed that he had WAY too much respect for Janet to ever dog her out like that, so he had to back away when she wanted to take their relationship to the next level.

What Todd Revealed About Janet Jackson:

Here’s what Todd Bridges also revealed to Oprah about Janet:

“I backed away from her [Janet] because she was such a nice person and so good to me that I just couldn’t see myself hurting her like that… (but) we went out for a little while.”

Good lookin’ out Todd! And Besides, Janet had SIX brothers and a tough Pops who probably wouldn’t have took too well to you treating their precious sister and daughter like a ‘hit it and quit it.’

Now, Todd wasn’t like that with ALL of his celebrity hookups, in particular, his “Diff’rent Strokes” co-star, the late Dana Plato, whom he respected, but said that it was Dana who pursued him when he was 13 and she was 15. She was the first female he’d had sex with and he appreciated her for giving him his first heterosexual experience and letting him see that he was 100%, without a doubt heterosexual…

The reason Todd needed that confirmation was because at that time, his young mind was confused after having been repeatedly sexually molested at age 11 by his then-male publicist/mentor. It took Todd many years to get over that pain, as you could imagine and his molester should have been put UNDER a jail in my opinion.

In regards to his past situation with Dana, Todd said that they would hook up, but it wasn’t anything too serious and that he was still getting with a bunch of other girls.

But again, Janet was different to him and he’s glad that he followed his heart and not his lust when it came to Janet “Ms. Jackson if you’re nasty” Damito Jo Jackson.

Todd talks about all of this in his book, “Killing Willis,” which is a VERY good read by the way.

The post Todd Bridges Revealed Why He Rejected Janet Jackson…But Not His Co-Star, Dana Plato appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

For many years, former “Different Strokes” star, Todd Bridges,’ name was synonymous with drugs, jail, child-star-gone-wild, and any other negative connotation you could think of…most of which was true. For years, many judged him, but there is a reason for his wild past. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey a few years ago, Todd tearfully explained what that reason is. Todd Bridges’ many problems all stem from the horrific sexual abuse he endured as a child and by that time, he was already a professional actor. He and his mom spoke out about just how bad things actually got between them and his sexual abuser (whom they also named). But what Todd said his Dad did AFTER he found out his son had been abused, was even worse, according to Todd.

BRIDGES RECALLS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER MOLESTER ABUSED HIM…

Todd Bridges revealed that he was sexually abused by his then male mentor/publicist. According to Todd, ‘Mr. Child molester’ used to push  him to ignore the many girl fans who adored him at age 11 and then the molester eventually proceeded to sexually abused Todd. Here’s what happened when Todd discussed this on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”:

Via Starpulse: Bridges started reading [a page from his book, “Killing Willis”] and lost his composure as he fought back tears: “He pulled my pants down. He put his mouth on me and I got hard. I didn’t know where to look or how to feel. I squirmed against the back of the seat… I hoped it would be over fast. That’s what happened; I came.”

 

He added, “As I confessed and I was upset about it, I liked the way that it felt. I didn’t think about whether or not it was wrong.” [Bridges] held his head in his hand and started crying as he put the book down and told Winfrey, “I’m past it but it still hurts because it ruined my life. I spent the rest of my time trying to cover up how I felt about it, that pain.”

Over time, Todd started lashing out at his molester and would get real violent, which raised red flags for his Mom:

Bridges…revealed his molester, a man named Ronald, tried to take the place of his father – and he had confusing moments where he just attacked the man who stole his innocence. The actor’s mother, who was in [Oprah’s] studio audience, revealed her son’s strange behavior struck a chord with her – because she had been molested as a child, also. Bridges explained, “My mother took me off of him. I think she knew right away what had happened.” -Starpulse

After his Mom quickly connected the dots, she innately reacted to protect her baby. She instantly picked up a knife, threatened the molester and chased him the hell out of her house! Then she called Todd’s dad and that’s when it went from BAD to WORSE…

‘MY DAD DIDN’T BELIEVE ME AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT’

Immediately after Todd’s mom chased the molester out of her house, she called Todd’s biological father and what he said to him next is something that cut Todd to the core. Todd said his Pops did NOT believe him when he got on the phone and told him the man had been sexually abusing him:

“That really destroyed me because my father was supposed to be my protector. He didn’t protect me,” Bridges told Oprah. Then he broke down again and said,  “He allowed this man to do this to me and didn’t help me. I have kids today (and) if my kids told me that, I’m going to jail; that guy’s dead. There’s no way he’s gonna live,” Bridges confessed.

Todd Bridges definitely earned my respect for being so forthcoming about what that monster did to him back in the day. At this point, I’m conflicted about who’s more of the monster though – his molester, or his pops? Real talk.

Then we wonder why some kids grow up to be jacked up adults…SMH. Much respect to Mr. Bridges for helping others by sharing his story.

The post Todd Bridges Boldly Detailed How He And His Mother Got Revenge On His Sexual Abuser appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

He’s definitely had his fair share of ups and downs, throughout his  56 years. He recalled one such ‘down’ in his autobiography, Killing Willis, which was one of the scariest incidents of his life. It almost got him killed by police and caused his mentor, attorney Johhnie Cochran, to threaten him like he’d never done before.

What Todd Bridges Revealed Is Where Many Fans Never Thought He’d End Up

It Started With A Woman Being His Downfall: “The high was so good, I came”

Todd Bridges says an old friend named Joelle- ‘a voluptuous White woman’ called him outta the blue one day:

“She was the one who got me hooked on methamphetamine. The first time she ever shot me up with meth, the high was so good, I came.”

She Called For Help & He Hoped For A Sexual Favor In Return…

He Willingly Obliged Her Request For Drugs

They had an “intense” sexual past, so when she asked him to ‘get her a sixteenth of speed,’ he hoped she’d give him a sexual favor:

“Her voice was real flirty-like. …Girls who needed drugs would do anything. That’s how I liked it.”

What Happened Next Was Like A Movie…

Cops Spotted Him

Even though Bridges was no longer an addict, he still copped the drugs for Joelle in Burbank, CA.. When he was on his way to deliver the good to Joelle, the cops started following. Spooked, he initially lost them. That’s When All Hell Broke Lose…

Unbeknownst to Todd, his Moms then received a frantic call from her friend, alerting her cops ran into a nearby store asking her if they’d seen him. His Mom left a message for him at home:

“Whatever you’re doing, stop it now. The police are looking for you.”

The Life-Threatening Traffic Stop That Nearly Killed Bridges

Todd continued:

“As soon as I heard the siren, I knew they had me. I pulled over. …’Get out of the car, right now!’ one of the officers yelled at me, his gun drawn. …Officers from the other squad cars…stood at the ready, legs wide, guns drawn. A drug dog barked and tugged at its leash. I had been through this before.”

‘I Wanted To Commit Suicide By Cops’

“I couldn’t face it all over again. I was totally demoralized,” wrote Todd Bridges. So, he contemplated grabbing his hidden 9mm gun to make the cops kill him:

“‘Forget it,’ I thought. ‘Just kill me now, because I’m tired of this life anyway.’ …I was ready for it all to end.”

He Decided To Comply, But Realized ‘Who Set Him Up’

“This was not how I wanted to end it. I wanted to live. I let go of my gun and closed up the secret compartment. …Now that I didn’t want to die, I was scared that they were going to kill me.”

When Todd got out the car with hands up, he says the cops and drug dog “ambushed” him to the ground. He realized Joelle ‘set him up.’ Todd Had An Unexpected Reaction…

His Arrest Was A ‘Sense Of Relief’

TB: “When they cuffed my arms behind my back, I knew it was all over. As they put me in the back of a squad car, I actually felt a sense of relief. …Now I had a chance at something better, if I could only hold it together this time.”

But Then Johnnie Cochran Stepped In With A Threat…

Cochran Threatened Bridges: “I’m done. Don’t call me. Don’t be my friend.”

TB: “Johnnie [Cochran] came down and sat next to me in the cell. …’This is the last time I’m going to help you with anything. If you don’t straighten your life out, I’m done. Don’t call me. Don’t be my friend. I don’t need you in my life if you can’t straighten yourself out.'”

Cochran Was ‘More Of A Father’ To Bridges Than His Real Father

TB: “Johnnie…had represented me in my attempted-murder trial in ’89. …And when my own father didn’t visit me, even once, while I was in jail for nine months…Johnnie had been like a father to me. The thought of not having him there to help me anymore filled me with panic.”

Bridges Soon Betrayed Cochran’s Trust…

He Got REALLY High After Cochran Bailed Him Out

Johnnie helped bail Todd out a few days later, but Todd confessed that he immediately got higher than he had in a long time after getting out.
Here’s Where Todd Bridges Is Now…

Clean & Sober…With Just One Recent Incident Under His Belt

Today at 56, Todd Bridges is reportedly clean and sober. In more recent years, Todd only made headlines for getting knocked out on camera, as he tried to help his female neighbor evict unruly tenants from her home.

Best wishes to the brotha going forward.

The post After Nearly Being Shot By Cops, Todd Bridges Tells Why Johnnie Cochran Once ‘Threatened’ Him appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

“Willis'” and “Charlene’s” romance wasn’t just an on-screen acting gig for Todd Bridges and Janet Jackson…it was realer than we thought back in the day, when we were watching their teen love on “Diff’rent Strokes.” It turns out Todd (then 17) and Janet (then 16) dated at that time, but it was Todd who ultimately decided to reject Janet and end things, but he had a very good reason for it.

In a past interview on the “Today Show,” Todd revealed that he and Janet were really diggin’ each other, but when Janet started making more aggressive advances toward him he backed away from her. I guess she wasn’t in that “Let’s Wait Awhile” frame of mind back then, LOL…I joke I joke, I kid I kid!.

Moving On…

Todd said although he and Janet were REALLY “in love” with each other, he had to reject her because he was doing what most teen boys would do in his position with a million groupie females chasing after them, willing to do any-and-everything they wanted…he was hookin’ up with chicks and then moving on to the next one…and the next one…and the next one. So Todd confessed that he had WAY too much respect for Janet to ever dog her out like that, so he had to back away when she wanted to take their relationship to the next level.

What Todd Revealed About Janet Jackson:

Here’s what Todd Bridges also revealed to Oprah about Janet:

“I backed away from her [Janet] because she was such a nice person and so good to me that I just couldn’t see myself hurting her like that… (but) we went out for a little while.”

Good lookin’ out Todd! And Besides, Janet had SIX brothers and a tough Pops who probably wouldn’t have took too well to you treating their precious sister and daughter like a ‘hit it and quit it.’

Now, Todd wasn’t like that with ALL of his celebrity hookups, in particular, his “Diff’rent Strokes” co-star, the late Dana Plato, whom he respected, but said that it was Dana who pursued him when he was 13 and she was 15. She was the first female he’d had sex with and he appreciated her for giving him his first heterosexual experience and letting him see that he was 100%, without a doubt heterosexual…

The reason Todd needed that confirmation was because at that time, his young mind was confused after having been repeatedly sexually molested at age 11 by his then-male publicist/mentor. It took Todd many years to get over that pain, as you could imagine and his molester should have been put UNDER a jail in my opinion.

In regards to his past situation with Dana, Todd said that they would hook up, but it wasn’t anything too serious and that he was still getting with a bunch of other girls.

But again, Janet was different to him and he’s glad that he followed his heart and not his lust when it came to Janet “Ms. Jackson if you’re nasty” Damito Jo Jackson.

Todd talks about all of this in his book, “Killing Willis,” which is a VERY good read by the way.

The post Todd Bridges Explained Why He Rejected Janet Jackson…But Not His Co-Star, Dana Plato appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

He’s definitely had his fair share of ups and downs, throughout his  56 years. He recalled one such ‘down’ in his autobiography, Killing Willis, which was one of the scariest incidents of his life. It almost got him killed by police and caused his mentor, attorney Johhnie Cochran, to threaten him like he’d never done before.

What Todd Bridges Revealed Is Where Many Fans Never Thought He’d End Up

It Started With A Woman Being His Downfall: “The high was so good, I came”

Todd Bridges says an old friend named Joelle- ‘a voluptuous White woman’ called him outta the blue one day:

“She was the one who got me hooked on methamphetamine. The first time she ever shot me up with meth, the high was so good, I came.”

She Called For Help & He Hoped For A Sexual Favor In Return…

He Willingly Obliged Her Request For Drugs

They had an “intense” sexual past, so when she asked him to ‘get her a sixteenth of speed,’ he hoped she’d give him a sexual favor:

“Her voice was real flirty-like. …Girls who needed drugs would do anything. That’s how I liked it.”

What Happened Next Was Like A Movie…

Cops Spotted Him

Even though Bridges was no longer an addict, he still copped the drugs for Joelle in Burbank, CA.. When he was on his way to deliver the good to Joelle, the cops started following. Spooked, he initially lost them. That’s When All Hell Broke Lose…

Unbeknownst to Todd, his Moms then received a frantic call from her friend, alerting her cops ran into a nearby store asking her if they’d seen him. His Mom left a message for him at home:

“Whatever you’re doing, stop it now. The police are looking for you.”

The Life-Threatening Traffic Stop That Nearly Killed Bridges

Todd continued:

“As soon as I heard the siren, I knew they had me. I pulled over. …’Get out of the car, right now!’ one of the officers yelled at me, his gun drawn. …Officers from the other squad cars…stood at the ready, legs wide, guns drawn. A drug dog barked and tugged at its leash. I had been through this before.”

‘I Wanted To Commit Suicide By Cops’

“I couldn’t face it all over again. I was totally demoralized,” wrote Todd Bridges. So, he contemplated grabbing his hidden 9mm gun to make the cops kill him:

“‘Forget it,’ I thought. ‘Just kill me now, because I’m tired of this life anyway.’ …I was ready for it all to end.”

He Decided To Comply, But Realized ‘Who Set Him Up’

“This was not how I wanted to end it. I wanted to live. I let go of my gun and closed up the secret compartment. …Now that I didn’t want to die, I was scared that they were going to kill me.”

When Todd got out the car with hands up, he says the cops and drug dog “ambushed” him to the ground. He realized Joelle ‘set him up.’ Todd Had An Unexpected Reaction…

His Arrest Was A ‘Sense Of Relief’

TB: “When they cuffed my arms behind my back, I knew it was all over. As they put me in the back of a squad car, I actually felt a sense of relief. …Now I had a chance at something better, if I could only hold it together this time.”

But Then Johnnie Cochran Stepped In With A Threat…

Cochran Threatened Bridges: “I’m done. Don’t call me. Don’t be my friend.”

TB: “Johnnie [Cochran] came down and sat next to me in the cell. …’This is the last time I’m going to help you with anything. If you don’t straighten your life out, I’m done. Don’t call me. Don’t be my friend. I don’t need you in my life if you can’t straighten yourself out.'”

Cochran Was ‘More Of A Father’ To Bridges Than His Real Father

TB: “Johnnie…had represented me in my attempted-murder trial in ’89. …And when my own father didn’t visit me, even once, while I was in jail for nine months…Johnnie had been like a father to me. The thought of not having him there to help me anymore filled me with panic.”

Bridges Soon Betrayed Cochran’s Trust…

He Got REALLY High After Cochran Bailed Him Out

Johnnie helped bail Todd out a few days later, but Todd confessed that he immediately got higher than he had in a long time after getting out.
Here’s Where Todd Bridges Is Now…

Clean & Sober…With Just One Recent Incident Under His Belt

Today at 56, Todd Bridges is reportedly clean and sober. In more recent years, Todd only made headlines for getting knocked out on camera, as he tried to help his female neighbor evict unruly tenants from her home.

Best wishes to the brotha going forward.

The post After Almost Being Shot By Cops, Todd Bridges Tells Why Johnnie Cochran Once ‘Threatened’ Him appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

When we think of Sugar Ray Leonard (64), we think of the icon, the boxing champ, the brotha with one of the fastest footwork capabilities of his era. However, what we don’t think of when we see Sugar Ray, is a man who was once violated and sexually abused when he was a young boxer training to become the greatest. The timing may sound a tad bit odd, but when you read his story, you’ll understand the true pain and inner conflict that this man had to endure. We applaud him for his brutal honesty.

Sugar Ray Details His Sexual Assault

Embed from Getty Images

Sugar Ray Leonard says he was sexually abused by his boxing coach starting at the age of 15. He released his autobiography, “The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring,” in 2011, detailing what exactly happened to him.

He first did an extensive interview with The New York Times, stating that his Olympic boxing coach forced him to engage in sexual acts with him, as well as strange acts with a fellow teen boxer at that time:

Via Big Think: According to the summary in the New York Times, Leonard first became suspicious when the coach had him and another fighter take a bath together and watched them from across the room. He was about 15 years old at the time.

Several years later, the article doesn’t say exactly how many, the coach got Leonard alone in a car and gave a speech about how important winning a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics would be for Leonard’s career, and proceeded to unzip Leonard’s fly and sexually assault him.

Leonard was flattered, filled with hope, as any young athlete would be. But he writes: “Before I knew it, he had unzipped my pants and put his hand, then mouth, on an area that has haunted me for life. I didn’t scream. I didn’t look at him. I just opened the door and ran.”

He adds that when he first decided to discuss the incident in the book, which is written with Michael Arkush, he offered a version in which the abuser stopped before there was actual contact. [NYT]

Why He Finally Shared His Story

Embed from Getty Images

At the time of his NYTimes interview, Sugar Ray admitted that he was initially too ashamed to give his writer the real version of what happened to him, so he told him that the trainer had stopped before anything sexually transpired. However, he says it was former “Diff’rent Strokes” actor, Todd Bridges,’ heart wrenching interview on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that suddenly made him have a change of heart about telling his true story:

“After watching the actor Todd Bridges bare his soul on Oprah’s show about how he was sexually abused as a kid, I realized I would never be free unless I revealed the whole truth, no matter how much it hurt,” wrote Sugar Ray.

Like we always say, here at ILOSM, celebrities have achieved high levels of greatness in their careers. However, just like us regular folks, they are still perfectly flawed human beings, who have to deal with heartaches, tragedies, and traumas as well. Again, we salute Sugar Ray Leonard for sharing his story with the world…hopefully this will help someone else.

The post Sugar Ray Leonard Painfully Recalled What Happened When Coach ‘Sexually Assaulted’ Him appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

For many years, former “Different Strokes” star, Todd Bridges,’ name was synonymous with drugs, jail, child-star-gone-wild, and any other negative connotation you could think of…most of which was true. For years, many judged him, but there is a reason for his wild past. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey a few years ago, Todd tearfully explained what that reason is. Todd Bridges’ many problems all stem from the horrific sexual abuse he endured as a child and by that time, he was already a professional actor. He and his mom spoke out about just how bad things actually got between them and his sexual abuser (whom they also named). But what Todd said his Dad did AFTER he found out his son had been abused, was even worse, according to Todd.

BRIDGES RECALLS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER MOLESTER ABUSED HIM…

Todd Bridges revealed that he was sexually abused by his then male mentor/publicist. According to Todd, ‘Mr. Child molester’ used to push  him to ignore the many girl fans who adored him at age 11 and then the molester eventually proceeded to sexually abused Todd. Here’s what happened when Todd discussed this on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”:

Via Starpulse: Bridges started reading [a page from his book, “Killing Willis”] and lost his composure as he fought back tears: “He pulled my pants down. He put his mouth on me and I got hard. I didn’t know where to look or how to feel. I squirmed against the back of the seat… I hoped it would be over fast. That’s what happened; I came.”

 

He added, “As I confessed and I was upset about it, I liked the way that it felt. I didn’t think about whether or not it was wrong.” [Bridges] held his head in his hand and started crying as he put the book down and told Winfrey, “I’m past it but it still hurts because it ruined my life. I spent the rest of my time trying to cover up how I felt about it, that pain.”

Over time, Todd started lashing out at his molester and would get real violent, which raised red flags for his Mom:

Bridges…revealed his molester, a man named Ronald, tried to take the place of his father – and he had confusing moments where he just attacked the man who stole his innocence. The actor’s mother, who was in [Oprah’s] studio audience, revealed her son’s strange behavior struck a chord with her – because she had been molested as a child, also. Bridges explained, “My mother took me off of him. I think she knew right away what had happened.” -Starpulse

After his Mom quickly connected the dots, she innately reacted to protect her baby. She instantly picked up a knife, threatened the molester and chased him the hell out of her house! Then she called Todd’s dad and that’s when it went from BAD to WORSE…

‘MY DAD DIDN’T BELIEVE ME AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT’

Immediately after Todd’s mom chased the molester out of her house, she called Todd’s biological father and what he said to him next is something that cut Todd to the core. Todd said his Pops did NOT believe him when he got on the phone and told him the man had been sexually abusing him:

“That really destroyed me because my father was supposed to be my protector. He didn’t protect me,” Bridges told Oprah. Then he broke down again and said,  “He allowed this man to do this to me and didn’t help me. I have kids today (and) if my kids told me that, I’m going to jail; that guy’s dead. There’s no way he’s gonna live,” Bridges confessed.

Todd Bridges definitely earned my respect for being so forthcoming about what that monster did to him back in the day. At this point, I’m conflicted about who’s more of the monster though – his molester, or his pops? Real talk.

Then we wonder why some kids grow up to be jacked up adults…SMH. Much respect to Mr. Bridges for helping others by sharing his story.

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