Emily Atack was 'scared of men' after being sexually harrassed during teens
Emily Atack has opened up about having her first sexual experience with an 18-year-old boy when she was just 12.
The comedian and TV presenter, now 33, shares details about the sexual harassment she faces online on a daily basis in the upcoming BBC Two documentary Emily Atack: Asking for It?
Atack remembers being ‘scared of men’ when she was a teen and remembers being touched without her consent at parties.
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As part of the documentary, the star speaks to a group of 16-year-old girls to hear about their experience of cyberflashing - when a person is sent unsolicited absence and sexual images on their device via social media, dating apps or AirDrop.
Some of the eight girls Atack speaks with reveal they first experienced cyberflashing when they were only 11.
After speaking with the students, Atack said: “It kind of hit me quite hard listening to those girls at school because it really made me reflect on the kind of thing that I went through as a teenager.
“My first sexual experience with an 18-year-old was [when I was] 12. Men did scare me, they were always inappropriate with me from such a young age.
“What I've been told in therapy over the years is that I found a way of coping with it and that was by opening myself up to boys and men from a really early age.”
Later in the documentary, The Inbetweeners star opens up to a Sexual Violence and Abuse Counsellor about the uneasiness she feels looking back on these experiences as an adult.
“At the time, when I was having sex and using my body to get what I wanted out of a situation, I thought that was sort of what you had to do,” she tells Theresa Cabot.
“I didn't like it, it was painful. I found myself in situations where I was so drunk and I would wake up and stuff was happening to me... things like that.
“I hate myself [for it]. Like, stop causing problems! Just be like all the others kids, like all the other girls. Have other interests other than snogging boys and makeup.”
Elsewhere in the documentary, Atack’s mum Kate Robbins breaks down in tears after reading some of the horrific messages her daughter is sent online daily.
The documentary also exposes one obsessed fan - known by the username ‘Daddy Dave’ - who sends the The Emily Atack Show actor vile messages on Instagram on a daily basis.
Emily Atack: Asking For It? airs on BBC Two on 31 January.
Topics: Emily Atack, Celebrity
Gregory Robinson