While discussing his new Comedy Central talk show, radio host and media personality Charlamagne tha God also got candid about his past. The veteran media personality revealed how an interview between Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey discussing sexual assault caused the 43-year-old to think about his own prior experiences.
“When I first watched that interview, I wasn’t nowhere near doing any kind of work on myself. But I saw it in real-time back in the day when he was on Oprah. And I watched him crying, and I remember just saying to myself, ‘Well, what’s wrong with him?’” Charlamagne tha God stated in an interview with Daily Blast Live, referring to Perry’s 2010 appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Sharing his past views, the Breakfast Club host continued, “You know, men process sexual assault as different. Like, we don’t look at it as sexual assault. We look at it as ‘I was eight and getting it poppin’ with an older woman.’ I literally remember me and my guys at that age having conversations about being with older women back then. None of us processed it as sexual assault,”
“That’s not something I processed as sexual assault until I was in my late 30s,” Charlamagne tha God added, “Then I just understood it more. You just don’t know what that did to you.”
In a 2018 episode of TVOne’s UNCENSORED, Charlamagne tha God recounted being molested by his cousin’s ex-wife when he was only 8-years-old, saying on the show, “I don’t even necessarily know if I remember the first time. I just know it happened a few times, and I didn’t tell nobody because I enjoyed it,”
While opening up to longtime friend Winfrey on her award-winning talk show, Perry detailed being repeatedly physically abused by a father figure and the sexual abuse he experienced from a male neighbor, a male church member and a friend’s mother. “This is so disgusting, you know, what these people did to this little boy,” the mega-producer recalled through tears at the time.
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Focusing on the importance of mental health and addressing trauma in the Black community, Charlamagne tha God recently launched the Mental Wealth Alliance in February 2021, saying about the foundation, “My founding of the Mental Wealth Alliance is the manifestation of a deeply personal vision. I believe improving Black mental health is a core tenet of restoring souls, igniting wealth, and inspiring upliftment for Black America,” according to Business Wire.
The father and entrepreneur has also remained open about attending therapy as an adult and his journey navigating anxiety.
