Kaya Scodelario Opens Up About Suffering ''Horrific" Sexual Assault at Age 12

Maze Runner star says in a new interview she feels "proud" to have come forward with her story

By McKenna Aiello Jan 24, 2018 3:12 AMTags
ESC: Kaya ScodelarioJohn Phillips/Getty Images

Kaya Scodelario is a sexual assault survivor, but she's not letting that label define her. 

In October 2017, the British actress—known for her roles in The Maze Runner series and Pirates of the Caribbean—further amplified the #MeToo movement by sharing her own account of being assaulted at only 12-years-old. 

She accused "family members in Brazil" of protecting the individual, and claimed on Twitter that they've "sold lies to papers to try to silence me." 

Now months later, Kaya opened up to Metro U.K. about the downsides she didn't expect to face by coming forward publicly. "The response was wonderful, it was a relief but I am still dealing with it, and I am now dealing with a new side of it, which is this,' she shared.

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"I will be asked about it forever now," Kaya continued. "I hope it doesn't define me but it will always be under my name and I accept that—but I am proud I was brave enough to do it and I am grateful for the support I had from friends."

Scodelario said she was motivated to come forward because of her 1-year-old son, who she shares with husband Benjamin Walker. "I do this for my son," she tweeted at the time. "So that he will see one day that we all have a voice. And that this behavior can not be tolerated any longer."

Additionally, Kaya told Metro her experience may help others in a similar position to not feel ashamed. 

She explained. "And I remember thinking that if I was 12-years-old and I had this horrific thing happen to me but I saw a woman I admired speaking up about it, it would have made me feel less guilty, and it would have inspired me to think, 'This won't hold me back, this is something that has happened but I am not a victim.'"

"So I thought if I can do that for one person then I owe it to my 12-year-old self," Kaya concluded.