Marie Osmond Believed She "Must Be Gay" After Being Sexually Abused As a Child

Pop star Miley Cyrus caused quite a stir when she made comments on social media about her negative feelings toward men (or more specifically, her ex Liam Hemsworth). But while several fans called her out for making comments that were "harmful" and "homophobic," Marie Osmond revealed that she could actually relate to Miley's controversial statements. And it's all because of her painful childhood experience. 

During an Instagram livestream with her boyfriend, Cody Simpson, Miley shared her feelings about men and managed to diss her ex, Liam, in the process. She said: “There are good people out there that just happen to have d---ks. I've only ever met one, and he's on this live." 

She also opened up about feeling like she "had" to be attracted to women because she was disappointed with all the guys she'd met. She shared: "I always thought I had to be gay, because I thought all guys were evil, but it's not true... You don't have to be gay, there are good people with d--ks out there, you’ve just got to find them. You've got to find a d--k that's not a d--k, you know?"

Her comments not only sparked backlash, but it led to a discussion on The Talk that would prompt singer and talk show host, Marie, to open up about her childhood abuse.

While on The Talk, she shared that she once had the same views as Miley because of the abuse she endured when she was a child. 

She explained: "When I was about eight or nine, I actually thought I was gay. The reason is because I had been sexually abused to the point that men made me sick. I didn't trust them, I didn't like them. I was looking at women and I thought 'why am I looking at women? I must be gay.'"

Though Marie was open about her experience on the show, she didn't go as far as naming anyone. The talk show host did mention the abuse in her previous memoir, Behind the Smile: My Journey out of Postpartum Depression, but she didn't go into detail about what happened in the book, or mention who the abuser was.

On the show, she shared that her ill views of men never stuck because of all the great men in her family. She said: "I realized, because I'm a thinker, why did God give me all these great brothers and why did He give me this amazing father? And truly, they changed my opinion of men, which made me feel that it was something that I was going through." 

"I’m not saying anything about anybody," she continued. "I’m saying with [Miley’s] statement, and with my life personally, that changed the way I look at myself.”

It's encouraging to see that Marie was able to recognize that there are definitely good men out there. As for Miley, she has since come forward to clarify her stance when it comes to people's sexuality. She said: "Let me be clear, YOU don't CHOOSE your sexuality. You are born as you are. It has always been my priority to protect the LGBTQ community I am a part of."

If you need support, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit RAINN.org to chat online one-on-one with a support specialist at any time.