Hollywood stars gathered on Saturday night to raise awareness for domestic violence and human trafficking at the 6th annual Face Forward Gala at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. They heard the harrowing stories of victims, some celebrities sharing their own stories of abuse.
La Toya Jackson broke down several times as she recounted the victimization she faced under her ex-husband and former manager Jack Gordon, who brought her to Japan under the guise of being her Jehovah's Witness escort.
"I was a Jehovah's Witness. I knew nothing of the outside world. My parents couldn't go with me to Japan so they asked this man to go with me. The minute we got there he took my passport and said you are never going back," she told Headlines & Global News and other reporters at the gala.
Nicole Sullivan hosted the event organized by Deborah Alessi, founder of Face Forward and a survivor of domestic violence. She and her husband Dr. David Alessi raise money to provide pro bono reconstructive surgery to victims whether they are women, children or men.
"At our first gala we probably had a hundred guests and had no idea what I was doing," Deborah said. "Seven years later we are sold out with almost 500 attending. I feel so fortunate my husband and I can help these patients."
David added, "We have $700,000 worth of surgeries done throughout the year... My wife coordinates getting women from all over the world here and helps provides those along with housing and recovery. She's amazing."
Celebrities in attendance included "Once Upon a Time" star Lana Parrilla, "Entertainment Tonight" co-host Kevin Frazier, actor John Savage and rapper Nelly, who brought his girlfriend Shantel Jackson, a victim herself while in an allegedly abusive relationship with boxer Floyd Mayweather.
"Code Black" actress Bonnie Somerville opened her co-stars eyes to the epidemic and they all came out to support the cause.
"We all want to lend our voices to causes dear to each other and when Bonnie described her commitment we wanted to come. Meeting these women and hearing their incredible stories of survival, I am very moved and very angry," Marcia Gay Harden said.
She added, "I tell my daughters there is a 'no tolerance policy' when it comes to domestic violence. It accelerates. Sure people lash out but there is a difference between throwing a plate and striking someone. This is the brutal victimization of helpless people and bullying at it's most heinous."
Jackson shared more of her devastating story below. Click here to learn more about Face Forward.
As a victim yourself, what advice would you offer to someone seeking help?
It's so important to get out while you can. I thought I couldn't get out and this is what people don't realize or understand, abuse... it doesn't differentiate. It doesn't matter if your black, white, green or blue. It also doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. A lot of people think, 'How could I go through this? You are well off.' But they don't understand it doesn't work that way. People might think you're fine and doing okay but behind closed doors it's a very different story. And that's something you can't show to the public because if you do, you'll get another beating and then another one. I was constantly being beaten and knocked down and kicked in the belly, locked in closets and no one knew about it.
How did you remove yourself from the situation?
The last straw for me was when he told me he was going to make me do a pornographic movie with several guys. He told me he was getting millions for it and then he was done with me. He promised he would kill me. I said, "You're going to have to kill me. I'm not doing that." It was then I begged for my passport because I knew I couldn't leave will go anywhere without it. At that point I just didn't care anymore. I had a Bible in my hand and would take showers with it. I'd never let it go. He wouldn't let me read or have other books. I didn't even know how to work a cell phone. I wasn't allowed to see anything and was never on the phone, which is one of those things nobody would ever understand, my story, and I was afraid to tell because of that.
Eventually you have to let others know in an effort to help other people and let them know that this does exist and this is real. These women are being hurt and beaten every single day. When I was on TV, he would see me and accuse me of shifting my weight in an effort to show my family I was being abused. He started beating me on my body so I could cover it up. So going on TV sometimes and even afterwards I wouldn't know if I was going to get a beating. He would say, 'You're trying to show your parents you're being abused?' I'd say, 'No I didn't, I moved because I was numb from sitting on the bruises.' You can't do anything right in a relationship like that. People really need to know what truly goes on in these relationships. No one knows how in-depth this is. Everyone has a story but at the end of the day it's the same story.
Are you surprised that you could let it happen to you?
I know how it happened. It happened because I was extremely religious. I was a Jehovah's Witness. I knew nothing of the outside world. My parents couldn't go with me to Japan so they asked this man to go with me. The minute we got there he took my passport and said you are never going back. On top of that he told me I was going to marry him. I told him I couldn't. I didn't know him or even like him and that was the beginning of everything. This is how these things happen and then they start beating you to control you. The first thing they do is isolate you from your family, you can't talk to any family members. He'd accuse me of using the phone and redial to see if I made a call. If the phone ever rang he'd grab my hand and twist it letting me know never to answer the phone in the house.
Did your parents try to contact you?
It's a very long story. They did but he would make me do and say things against my will. Then he promised me that if I didn't do something or say something that would put my family in a Catch-22 and he would kill certain members of my family, including me.
