[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Marlee Matlin opened up about her ex William Hurt’s death while on the red carpet at the Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday. While speaking to an ET reporter, the actress, who previously accused Hurt of raping her in the ‘80s, said:
“You’re the first person to ask me about him.”
She seemed a bit emotional and unsure of what to say at first but managed to press on.
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Referencing her first film, Marlee shared:
“We’ve lost a really great actor and working with him on set in Children of a Lesser God will always be something I remember very fondly. He taught me a great deal as an actor and he was one-of-a-kind.”
Hurt died of natural causes following a battle with prostate cancer. He was 71. His son, also named William, announced his passing via an emotional statement before the award ceremony, saying:
“It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father, and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday.”
The family has asked for privacy in this time. Marlee and William were quite close during her rise to fame. They met on the set of their 1986 movie Children of the Lesser God, in which they played love interests, and began dating when she was 19 and he was 35.
In 2009, the CODA star detailed horrifying allegations of abuse she experienced at the hands of her former boyfriend in her revealing memoir, I’ll Scream Later. She described one particularly awful incident that occurred after she returned home drunk at 4:30 a.m., writing (according to the Daily Beast):
“The next thing I knew he’d pulled me out of the bed, screaming at me, shaking me.”
The 56-year-old continued:
“I was scared, I was sobbing. Then he threw me on the bed, started ripping off his clothes and mine. I was crying. ’No, no, no. Please Bill, no.’ The next thing I remember is Bill ramming himself inside me as I sobbed.”
The Goliath alum did not deny the accusations, saying at the time:
“My own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a great deal to heal our lives.”
Understanding the severity of the situation, he apologized again for his actions, adding:
“Of course, I did and do apologize for any pain I caused. And I know we both have grown. I wish Marlee and her family nothing but good.”
You can see Matlin reflect on his sudden loss (below).
A kind tribute after such trauma.
[Image via Movieclips/The Late Show/KPIX CBS SF Bay Area/YouTube]
The post Marlee Matlin Mourns Ex William Hurt As Her Abuse Allegations Towards Him Resurface appeared first on Perez Hilton.
