Not only does she wear a cape on TV’s Supergirl, but the CW star, Melissa Benoist also wears a cape in her everyday life, having recently opened up about her alleged experience of domestic violence and assault.
Benoist, 31, who plays “Kara Danvers,” aka Supergirl on the CW television show, posted an emotional 14-minute Instagram video Wednesday night with the caption—“Life Isn’t Always What It Seems.”
In her video, she recalled her first assault, which revolved around her partner throwing a smoothie at her face—soon transitioning into a “big brother” like lifestyle, subjecting herself to the on-going policing of her devices and outfits.
It went so far as her partner not “want[ing] her ever kissing or even having flirtatious scenes with men,” which clearly affected the type of work Benoist chose to engage with.
The story unfortunately is the same with any victim of domestic violence—fear and insecurity. Benoist admitted that things reached a breaking point when an iPhone was thrown at her face, breaking her nose and almost rupturing her eyeball. Of course, lying to doctors and police on how she suffered the injury, she was finally able to walk away from the relationship.
“The stark truth is I learned what it felt like to be pinned down and slapped repeatedly, punched so hard the wind was knocked out of me, dragged by my hair across pavement, headbutted, pinched till my skin broke, shoved into a wall so hard the drywall broke, choked.”
Melissa Benoist
Immediately following her post to her 3.8 million Instagram followers, fans gravitated towards Benoist and sharing her story with the trending hashtag #IStandWithMelissa.
Benoist is married to her Supergirl co-star, Chris Wood—sharing that the abuse was from a previous relationship and not from Wood.
What started out as “emotional manipulation” spiraled into physical violence. While she didn’t name the individual who has historically abused her, she described him as “a magnanimous person” who “could be charming, funny, manipulative (and) devious.”
The show’s executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter described her as a “hero” and “extraordinary woman” in a statement posted on Twitter.
The show’s co-creator, Ali Adler was just as supportive, taking to Twitter to express her support:
Benoist ended her video by citing statistics from the CDC informing readers that one in four women in the U.S. aged 18 and older will experience physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
“I want the statistics to change and I hope that telling my story might help prevent more stories like mine from happening,” she concluded.
Whether you use the technology and world of social media, you can always reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline can help victims, survivors of domestic violence. Call 1-800-799-7233. Chat w/ an advocate on our website.
