After leaked audio of Jack Gilinsky verbally attacking his now ex-girlfriend Madison Beer surfaced online this week, fans were outraged.
The tape, which hears Jack hurling abuse at Madison and calling her explicit names, made its way around the internet and forced Jack to make a public apology.
Now, Madison is speaking out.
In an open letter to Twitter, she wrote:
“Jack and I having to face this yet again has been so hard. Many of you asking me, ‘Why would you stay with him if it happened last year?’ My theory was, and as horrible as this is, is that if I left him he’d do it to the next girl. I tried to fix him.”
Woah.
“We both have grown and changed at this point and it has been an extremely difficult thing to relive/go through what all of you have heard in the first place and hope ALL of my fans learn from my foolishness.
“If someone is mistreating you in ANY way, please speak up. It is never okay and I was blinded by love and much too afraid to come out and say anything in fear I would be broken up with/not taken seriously by someone I told.
“SPEAK UP. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. Your safety is never worth it. No matter what, no one deserves to be treated that way. You deserve the world and respect from EVERYONE and ANYONE. Be strong and thank you again, Madison.”
It’s a very important message that she is trying to get to people everywhere, abuse can come in many forms, and is NEVER okay.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can speak confidentially to a trained counsellor 24 hours a day at headspace.org.au or Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800.