Bella Thorne Tells Emily Ratajkowski She Was Sexualized By A Director When She Was 10

This article contains descriptions of child sexual harassment.

Bella Thorne talks about her experiences of sexualization in the entertainment industry as a child. On a Dec. 27 episode of Emily Ratajkowski's "High Low With EmRata" podcast, Thorne opened up about growing up in Hollywood, revealing some of the difficult situations she found herself in as a child.

“I started modeling when I was 6 weeks old,” Thorne shared, revealing that she booked a gig at Pottery Barn “before I came out of the womb.” She started experiencing sexualization at a young age, saying it was "fucking stressful" with "not only the whole world watching you, but especially the men, people and women around you telling you that's the box you have to fit into". "

She then told a disturbing story about an experience she had when she was 10 years old. "A director once commented to me, and I was 10 years old. The casting director called my agent, and the agent called my mom, and they were like, 'So she don't move on because the director felt like she was flirting with him, and it made him really uncomfortable," she said. "What are you talking about, man ? I don't give a fuck about what I said. I don't care if I say, "Eat my pussy right now" — she's 10! Why would you think that? Why?"

Ratajkowski replied, "Just putting this on a 10-year-old kid and acting like it made a grown man uncomfortable is insane. And then it was passed on to a casting director who was happy to pass this on to your mother. If you need a more fucked up story about Hollywood and, like, pedophilia and the sexualization of children, I don't know if there is one."

"Also, you're in a director's session. There's not much you can really say or do," Thorne said. "You make the scene, you say hello, you walk out. There's no time for love, let me go sit on your lap or make you uncomfortable. What the fuck are you talking about, man ?"

Thorne said that for a long time she blamed herself for what happened. "I try to find, almost, flaws in myself," she said. "Like, 'What did you do, Bella? What did you do to make him feel like this?' And every time I'm like, 'Bella, stop it. Even that thought becomes part of the problem. Don't even think about that thought.' It drives me crazy."

Ratajkowski told Thorne to "forgive herself", saying she was a "fuckin' kid" and "didn't do nothing" and adding that she hopes the anonymous director "rots in hell".

Both Ratajkowski and Thorne have been open about their experiences of sexualization at a young age in the entertainment industry. "I grew up really young, so I was more aware of sexuality and being a pretty girl-woman," Ratajkowski told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. really no idea what sex is a very strange experience."

For Thorne, coming to terms with his sexuality has been a journey of empowerment. "I've rocked the word 'sex' for a long time, and I will always continue to rock that word," she said on the podcast. "It's been forced on me since I was so little, but I've taken back so much power by owning that word."

Watch a clip from the episode below.