Jason Merritt/FilmMagic, AP Photo/Chris PolkRosie O'Donnell had known Stephen Collins for years before he was accused of—and then admitted to—sexually abusing three underage girls.
And she was more than saddened and sickened to find out that the "sweet" man she knew, the guy who introduced her to transcendental meditation and visited her talk show a number of times, was a child molester.
So yesterday, O'Donnell wrote a scathing free-verse poem blasting Collins for his actions and describing her own experience of being abused at the age of 10 by a 25-year-old man.
Lamenting that Katie Couric didn't "do 2 him / what she did 2 sarah palin / hit him with his truth" during her sit-down with Collins for Yahoo! last week, O'Donnell wrote in her usual all-lower-case poetic style:
"u are not equals / she was an innocent child / a baby girl / u have a daughter for gods sake / were u able to resist the urge to touch her ? / how noble … / congrats."
During his interview with Couric, Collins—who has never faced criminal charges—insisted that he is not a pedophile, that he does "not fit the clinical or dictionary definition" of the word. In a statement to People that preceded the interview, the7th Heaven star admitted to inappropriate sexual conduct with three underage girls between 1974 and 1994.
"in case u wonder / what ur man sized penis – / ur abuse of power / ur lack of impulse control did to that kid / i will tell u a bit about me," O'Donnell continued. "sex is not fun / not now / not ever / it is married to a lingering terror / joy evaporated / my body became my enemy / i would not love it / take care of it / treat it well / it had betrayed me / caused such pain and humiliation / i did not want 2 feel / 2 know / like many survivors of childhood sexual abuse / i became obese."
The co-host of The View provided a number of links to articles about the mental and emotional effects of sexual abuse and the link between obesity and abuse; as well as to the support group RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network; and a recording on YouTube of Joni Mitchell's "Not to Blame."
"JONI MITCHELL IS ESSENTIAL FOR HEALING," O'Donnell wrote.
She also called out Bill Cosby, who has now been accused by nearly two dozen women of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault. The comedian and former sitcom star's attorneys have denied the claims as they have rolled out.
About Collins, O'Donnell wrote, "u r an archetype / as is bill cosby / pedophile / rapist / how dare i / how dare i not ?"