What do Don Lemon, Will Lynch, and Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown have in common? They all claim they were molested by people they trusted as kids. In Brown’s case, it was a camp counselor — and he’s revealing the sexual assault for the first time in his new memoir, relays the NYDN.
He said he never told anyone out of shame and fear, and even his mother and wife would be hearing about the molestation for the first time. “He said ‘If you tell anybody, I’ll kill ya. I will make sure that nobody believes you,'” Brown told Leslie Stahl in the interview which airs Sunday. CBS released an excerpt in advance. “That’s what happens when you’re a victim. You’re embarrassed. You’re hurt. When people find people like me at that young vulnerable age, who are basically lost, the thing that they have over you is, they make you believe that no one will believe you.”
Brown described being touched, and being forced to touch the counselor. “Fortunately, nothing was ever fully consummated, so to speak, but it was certainly, back then, very traumatic,” he said.
customartist
Hmmmm? Something is fishy here?
Was this about to, or eventually going to come out, especially if Brown runs for Pres?
Would he have been, or will he someday be, accused of Willingly Participating, rather than Being Molested?
What now are Brown’s positions on Gay Rights, DADT, ENDA, DOMA?
Are his “experiences” positives or negatives as it relates to the acceptance of Gays?
No one, no Presidential Candidate, will from now on have the luxury of riding the fence on Gay Issues.
Time will tell…………………..
Stan
Well, if Sen. Scott Brown was really molested as a child, that was absolutely horrible, and I’m sorry for him.
But why is he suddenly telling us this right now? Oh, wait….he has a book that he wants to be a NY Times bestseller. He should book himself on the Oprah show. Then it WILL be a NY Times bestseller.
Again, I’m strongly opposed to child molestation & rape, but I have to wonder about the timing. He is also re-running for election in 2012, in the very blue state of Massachusetts. Is he trying to elicit sympathy from women, gay men, or any Democrat-leaning voters?
Red Meat
What a whore.
Jeffree
I feel very bad that Sen.Brown experienced molestation.
Yet I also reallly have to question the timing of this very public disclosure. Why now? Obviously we can’t answer that yet, & may not be able to for awhile or ever, but I will keep wondering.
MIchael
Oh my god, you stupid queens, can we stop joining in on the “blame the victim” bandwagon? We can all go to Don Lemon’s support because he’s probably gay but because it’s a conservative we suddenly start getting suspicious?
jak
there truly are some very sick folk on here
Spike
Never shared this with his wife or mother, but willing to share it with 60 Minutes and the entire country?
Give me an effing break. This is for political gain and only political gain and/or disclosure if in fact it wasn’t consensual, otherwise he would have held this for a book.
Only idiots trust republicans. Just saying.
Devon
@customartist:
@Stan:
@Red Meat:
@Jeffree:
You stay classy.
Soupy
Really? Statistically, most pedophiles are straight.
Hyhybt
The one bright point in this, and it’s a tiny one, is this: he cannot claim that being molested causes homosexuality.
royinkc
So seriously a child can not consent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a victim of childhood sexual assault I say fuck you moron’s who think they can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Devon
So much class in here.
Glenn Beck
Sometimes we just need to let go of our bias and hate for anyone conservative for just 1 minute and be tolerant and respectful. The guy went through a horrible experience as a child that no one deserves. Pretend this is king Obama who was molested by some perverted counselor in camp, would you still question the reliability of the story? Some of you act like the leftwing version of the Westboro Baptist church when you attack anyone conservative on political spectrum.
Pip
I’m sorry but this is a little vulgar. We don’t need to know that you were molested Senator Brown. And I love the tinge of homophobia in it. “Oh yes I was sexually touched! It was horrible! but don’t worry, I didn’t get fucked up the ass!” What a douche bag.
Right Wingers Are Socioptahs (John From England)
@Glenn Beck: @MIchael:
Right?
So why did he di this just now??????
Asshats.
Hmmm
John, I think YOU’RE turning into the “socioptah”.
Tom
Even if you don’t agree with the guy’s politics I’d hope you guys could show a little compassion. There isn’t a single reason to shame and attack somebody who’s talking about being molested.
hf2hvit
To paraphrase Bette Midler (look her up if you’re under 40) “And I was molested by John F. Kennedy!”
Jayson
Maybe he did this now because the gay scandal is about to hit, and he blame his homosexuality on him being molested.
Chad
Having watched the snippet, [the molestation] sounds like a minor event in a long line of abuse. He’s selling books.
justiceontherocks
The criticism here of the Senator, who voted to repeal DADT, is uncalled for. He’s a politician. Of course the timing of it has to do with his election. So what?
Almost no one writes biographies just to make money. They have a point to make. Sexual abuse of young children has long been the dirty little secret we all know about but can’t discuss. It’s time that changed.
whatever
@justiceontherocks: ‘Almost no one writes biographies just to make money.’
You are laughably naive.
DR
wow, vile, people, just vile.
justiceontherocks
@whatever: @whatever: No, you are demonstrably moronic.
Chad
That he touched a dude’s dick and subsequently threatened once at camp means little compared to the fact that he was raised in a household where he could not trust or confide in parent figures. The camp counselor is just a particularly seedy example.
He’s turned out surprisingly well considering the lack of family infrastructure. Maybe all is not well in Denmark? I wonder about his wife, and what she’s learned.
SouthSideShorty
Wow . . . the hate here is palpable. I will never, ever understand how the Left pats itself on the back for its presumed compassion, despite the deep-seated nastiness you guys display at every turn. Pretty funny.
Riker
Scott Brown is one of the most gay-friendly republicans in Congress. He was one of the half dozen Senators to cross the aisle and vote to repeal DADT. He’s from Massachusetts, and Republicans there aren’t quite the same as the Bible Belt representatives.
Regarding the election, Senator Brown is very popular in his home state. Unless something completely unexpected happens (like another Kennedy deciding to run for Teddy’s old seat) he is expected to win reelection easily.
spider_orchid
Every singie person in this post that made some kind of disparaging comment about this man should be ASHAMED. Can you all pull your heads out of your asses and have A LITTLE sympathy for someone? Klassy as hell, the lot of you.
Shannon1981
No matter how anyone feels about this man or his politics, being molested is horrific, and no matter how *minor* the event, I am sure it took a lot of courage, and was humiliating for him to have to speak of this in front of so many people.
Is the timing odd? Sure it is. But, he’s a politician, its his job to do what he has to to maximize impact at election time. Is it possible this was about to come out, or that there is some kind of gay scandal waiting in the wings? Again, sure, always a possibility. But, none of this has anything to do with his awful childhood experience. We shouldn’t be shaming his bravery.
Jon
That’s a pretty hot story. I’m going to FAP to it quite often.
Adonis-of-Fire
Ugh you people are horribly malicious
He was victimized and you are making fun of it? Ugh, you all deserve to be gay bashed, the world has a horrible perception of the gay community as malicious evil queens because of people like you.
Idi Amin Dada
Aren’t camp counselors just a couple of years older than their charges? So he was 14 and an 18 year old touched his dick. Maybe not welcomed, but “traumatic”? Please.
Scott
I agree that there’s something fishy about this story. I’ve known people who were molested as a child and their reaction is to build a shell around themselves. Senator Brown did a naked photo spread, letting it all hang out. That’s not in keeping with hiding a hurt.
I’ve known straight boys who touched each other’s wee-wee’s as teens or pre-teens and did not suffer emotional turmoil. It was a normal part of exploring, finding out what they liked and didn’t like.
Brown is not wildly popular with MA residents and there’s a concerted campaign to get rid of him. Had he been up for re-election in 2010 he would’ve gotten the boot.
I think he’s trying to pander to the right wing to drum up sympathy money for re-election from groups outside of MA. Worse is the media calling it “sexual abuse”. That makes it sound like rape. “Molestation” sounds like touching.
I think he wasn’t as traumatized as he leads us to believe. Any trauma was from the fear of physical revenge so it had nothing to do with naked bodies touching. If he had any heart he’d would’ve painted the picture differently.
The role of the victim is to elicit sympathy. To keep the sympathy going the victim must remain a victim. I learned that from the best, my mother. She pushed my father’s buttons right and left to provoke him and then cried to family members about how mean he was to her.
Off topic, if Martha Coakley (Brown’s opponent in the election) had done a similar photo spread in her youth she would have been castigated while Brown got brownie points for it. Double standard much?
thematics
@Scott:
Many survivors of molestation don’t ‘build a wall’ around themselves: they act out (hyper)sexually.
____
As for Sen. Scott Brown, if his purpose in writing his book is to show that someone can move past such abuse and be successful/happy, then it’s hard to fault him — but if it’s a political ploy I think we’re fair to question his motivations and timing.
Stace
If you really look to queerty for exemplars of sympathy or insight, the only fault is yours.
whatever
@SouthSideShorty: I’ll never understand how Republicans/conservatives claim to be so Christian, pious, devout and hurl horrible invective at Pelosi, Frank, Obama and liberals in general. Pretty funny.
See, two can play at your ridiculous stawman game, you simple conservoqueer.
FlameoftheWest
I respect him for coming out and telling the public what was done to him. As a public official he showed good charactor by showing that you don’t haft to keep something like that a secret. And for a senator to tell what happen, maybe it will give courage to young people to come forward.