Eddie Huang Reveals He Was Sexually Assaulted as a Teen: 'I Was Hijacked But I Fought My Way Back'
Eddie Huang, the author who inspired ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat and host of Viceland’s Huang’s World, is opening up for the first time about a sexual assault he had kept quiet for over 20 years.
Huang, 35, penned an article for New York magazine’s The Cut about the incident that occurred during a Baptist church ski trip when he was 14 years old.
The star said a chaperone came into his bunkhouse in the middle of the night and asked to use the shower.
“I just feel powerless to the memory. Him taking his time with the shower, steaming up the room, then coming out with his dick hanging out,” Huang recalled.
“He took out a Bible and started to read scripture with his dick hard,” Huang said. “My chest started to tighten and I couldn’t breathe, fearful for what would happen next. The panic turned to outrage and ultimately humiliation.”
Alhough Huang thought about fighting the man, their difference in height and size stopped him. He also opted not to call the police or tell anyone, fearing no one would believe him.
“Even if I told somebody, there was nothing they could give back to make me whole again,” he said, adding, “Finally, after more than 15 minutes, he packed his dick and left.”
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The star only told a handful of people in his life about the incident, however, Huang says he decided to go public after the recent bombshell allegations against Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.
A post shared by Eddie Huang (@mreddiehuang) on Nov 8, 2017 at 2:05pm PST
“A Band-Aid had been ripped off and a memory triggered that I had deliberately locked away. All of the emotions came rushing back,” Huang said of learning about the victims who’ve come forward since The New York Times and The New Yorker documented decades of alleged sexual misconduct and sexual assault involving a number of women in detailed articles in October.
Huang said that the bravery others showed helped him to realize that he, and others who have been victimized, do not have to be defined by what happened.
“I’m not just a kid some pedophile read Psalms to. And if someone sexually assaulted you, it isn’t who you are either. We have a f—ing choice,” Huang said, concluding: “We can’t always control what people do to us, but we do have the power to define it. When I look back, nothing was actually taken. I was hijacked, but I fought my way back and arrived as the man I’m supposed to be.”
