‘The Good Place’ Star Jameela Jamil Claims She Was Groped, Nearly Kidnapped At Age 12
Aug. 2 2018, Published 1:07 p.m. ET
The Good Place star Jameela Jamil just revealed a bombshell about her dark childhood and past. In a recent interview with Guardian Weekend magazine, the actress claimed she was sexually abused and nearly kidnapped when she was just 12 years old.
Jamil, 32, said she was walking along London’s Oxford Street when a man grabbed her by the crotch and would not let go. She then had to throw herself against a wall to shake off her groper before she was able to run away.
“It was 3:30 in the afternoon in front of John Lewis, for God’s sake,” recalled Jamil.
Three years later, when the star was 15, she was dragged by a stranger into a nearby car. Thankfully, a kind stranger saw the incident and saved her from the criminal.
“It was in Belsize Park! The most affluent part of London! I never considered those experiences traumatic until now, because I thought they happened to everyone and were normal,” said Jamil, who plays Tahani Al-Jamil in NBC’s The Good Place. “And now I realize that maybe that’s true, but it shouldn’t be.”
The actress also admitted that throughout her years at an all-girls private school in London, she was bullied over her weight, skin color, teenage acne, height and braces.
Unfortunately, the bigotry didn’t stop there, RadarOnline.com has learned. Years later, on the wake of the Brexit referendum, the Jamil was stunned when, walking through the streets of London, she was thrown racist slurs by angry passerby.
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Jamil developed an eating disorder after school bullies told her she was “too fat” to become an actress. Though she proved them wrong, the star still believes the showbiz industry is a toxic place, plagued by violent sexists.
“It’s not in the patriarchy’s interest for us to be multifaceted. They want us to worry about how we look, because it slows us down and we’re then less likely to overtake them,” she said.
Jameela also declared she does not believe the Me Too and Time’s Up movements have stopped Hollywood predators.
“It is so dark. How dare any of the people involved in that move wear Time’s Up pins to the Golden Globes. Can people just not hire men who have almost killed women?” said Jameela Jamil in her passionate interview.
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