AnnaLynne McCord: Fundie turned actress

[NotALoserLikeYou]

So, I was watching a Lifetime movie a while ago, and I, being the incessantly nosy bitch that I am, IMDB'd the actress to see who she was. Her name was AnnaLynne McCord and I found her story to be quite interesting.

She's a B or C list actress, she was in 114 episodes of the new Beverly Hills 90210 from 2008-2013 and 9 episodes of the new Dallas in 2013. Lots of TV movies, guest roles on popular shows, 12 episodes of Nip/Tuck. I've never seen any of those shows.

Anyhow, IMDB had the following trivia bits:

Father is a pastor.

Was home-schooled and graduated from high school at the age of 15.

This intrigued me and I googled further. Found the following from an article she wrote about sexual assault. Turns out she was raped by a friend at age 18.

cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/news/a6977/annalynne-mccord-sexual-assault/

I grew up in an extremely religious and conservative family in Georgia, mostly in the small city of Monroe, near Atlanta. My dad was a nondenominational Christian pastor. My mom homeschooled my two sisters and me. My sisters and I rarely got to watch TV, mainly just old episodes of Little House on the Prairie. We could never watch anything like Harry Potter because it had witches in it. We never talked about sex. We weren't even supposed to kiss until we got married. It was like we were living in 1902.

My parents believed in strict "discipline," as they called it — I would call it abuse. The punishments were painful and ritualistic. We would have to bend over the bed, sometimes with our pants down, arms outstretched, and get spanked — with a ruler in our younger years and later with a paddle that my parents bought when they thought the ruler wasn't strong enough.

I found it all very confusing. I knew my mom and dad loved me, and I loved them too. I still do. My dad always told me I could be anything I wanted to be. But at the same time, my parents hurt me, which told me they hated me. I know they were doing what they thought was right to discipline their kids. But it really messed me up. One day, I would suffer a punishment, and the next, my family would have a lovely day at the beach and I would tell myself, Maybe it's not so bad.

Another site she was quoted as saying she grew up having to read the bible two hours a day.

When I was 15, I finished my schooling and my parents got divorced. Amid the upheaval, I took the opportunity to convince them to let me sign with a modeling agency. I moved to Miami and lived in an apartment with eight other models.

On my own for the first time, I was meeting lots of hot boys. I had all these crazy, intense sexual feelings — the energy and desire a guy would have for me was enthralling. I became sort of promiscuous but didn't actually have sex. I'd get right there with the guy and then stop, thinking I'd go to hell. Then I'd go to church to cleanse myself. At the same time, I pushed men to be violent toward me. After all, as I had learned in my childhood, people who loved me hurt me.

I would slap the guys, antagonize them, until I believed they wanted to hit me. My sexual relationships were dark and violently dramatic.

One night, I had a vivid nightmare about my childhood, and my boyfriend said I should confront my parents. I mustered the strength to do so. I went home and told them, "What you considered discipline, I considered abuse." My dad cried; my mom seemed to be in denial. But it was an important step.

When I was 18, I moved to Los Angeles to audition for roles. My boyfriend planned to come later. One night, a guy friend called. He said he needed a good night's sleep for a meeting, as he'd been crashing on someone's couch. I had known him for some time, so I said to come over and I set him up with a clean towel. We sat on the bed and talked for a while, then I fell asleep. When I woke up, he was inside me.

At first, I felt so disoriented and numb, I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. I wondered if I had done something to give him the wrong idea. I felt afraid of making him angry. Believe it or not, I didn't want to offend him. I just wanted it to be over. My childhood had come back to haunt me again: Because of the physical abuse, I didn't believe there were borders between other people's bodies and my own. I didn't believe I had a voice.

And then my attacker confronted me. We were at a club, and he cornered me, wanting to talk. I said, "You know what happened." He said, "What are you saying? What we had that night was beautiful."

My boyfriend came around the corner, and I got away. Later, a male friend told me my attacker was going around claiming I was in love with him. Finally, something in me snapped. "He raped me!" I said.

My friend's reaction surprised me: He was so angry. I realized I was allowed to feel angry too. I told another friend, and she burst into tears. Again, I thought, I'm allowed to feel like this. I told my boyfriend. I told my older sister, Angel. It was another step. But it would take an outright breakdown to truly turn things around.

Later

I had pills and water in hand and thought seriously about killing myself. I didn't fear death — it felt like a solution. When you're in that mode, you don't think suicide is a selfish thing to do. You think you're doing everyone a favor.

I called my sister Angel; I called my dad. No answer. I got ready to swallow the pills and suddenly heard myself screaming, "Stop!" Then Angel called. She got on a flight to Spain immediately. I knew she was flying to me. I calmed down. I waited for her.

Afterward, with some professional help, I started facing my past — all of it. I read books about psychology and philosophy. I forgave myself for not standing up for myself, and I began channeling my experience into something good.

I met a woman named Somaly Mam, who rescues girls from sexual slavery in Southeast Asia. The girls are kidnapped or sold as young as ages 4 and 5. They live in grimy brothels where they are raped every day. At one of Somaly's shelters in Cambodia, I met dozens of young survivors. They became my friends, my sisters. Through helping them heal, I began to heal myself.

It took me my whole journey to get to the place where I am today. I'm 26, and I visit Cambodia every year. This fall, I'm going on a college speaking tour. I've started a website where I write poetry, TheAnnaLynneMcCord.com. I have a new role, on Dallas. I have my family; we are all in touch. And I have a profound intimacy with the man I love, Dominic Purcell. I have wonderful, mind-blowing sex with my man, and it no longer causes me guilt or shame.

Most of all, I have my message for women and girls: You have a voice. Don't put yourself in a box. Don't let the polite lies of society silence you. Honestly, I would endure everything all over again — it has led me to my own revolution.

(They've since broken up)

Another source:

Former 90210 star AnnaLynne McCord took her own virginity at the age of 12 with a sex toy because she was terrified about going to hell if she had intercourse before marriage.

The actress' father was a strict Georgia pastor who drilled the shame of sex into his daughters at an early age.

Her religious upbringing affected her views on sex and when her sister started talking about the birds and the bees, McCord decided to take her own virginity.

In a new interview with Access Hollywood she explains, "I associated (sex) and this is probably tapping into what Sigmund Freud has always said, which is that everything in life is about sex except for sex, and that's about power. And for me it was about power, it was about, 'No one's gonna take this from me'."

She has reconciled with her parents, they play an active role in her life.

She does a ton of work with charities to prevent/stop violence against girls and women. It seems like every other article was a charity event she was at, raising money and awareness. She tried to stop a KS bill that would specifically allow spanking to the point of bruises

The bill that was going on really struck a chord with me because I know a lot about the effects of corporal punishment. My parents were very conditioned to believe religious ideals of [not] ‘sparing the rod.’ So they were two young parents saying, “I love my children! Yet I believe this very strongly.†We need to educate people that you can believe in your belief systems to the extent it brings you peace and love, not physical abuse. I believe what a lot of doctors and studies have proved, which is that when you use physical discipline on a child, you start creating deep-seated anger that they suffer throughout their lives.

I know there were moments where I wanted to show people my bruises, but then I would think, “But I love my parents!†I also have very good memories with them. The first step for abuse is law enforcement, but I’m also thinking about the long-term response for the child’s psyche, and how to not cause them a different level of trauma.

She can be found on instagram @theannalynnemccord

Twitter @IAMannalynnemcc

Facebook facebook.com/theannalynnemccord

[PennySycamore]

AnnaLynne looked familiar so I'm glad I've seen her on Nip/Tuck and maybe on the Dallas reboot. I more glad, though, that she's taking all these negatives experiences that she's had and using them for good.

[FundieWatcher]

Getting hit by her father taught her that it is OK to get hit by men. Never talking about sex, she was wasn't taught limits or what is apporiate. Undoubtedly taught women should be submissive also. She wasn't raised with the tools to have successful relationships. She broke the cycle of abuse but is traumatized for life. I hope she cut off the relationship with her mother until the mother ends her "denial".

[apandaaries]

What a story. Good for her for breaking out and speaking out.

[artdecades]

Unfortunately, she seems to be heavily involved in Andrew Keegan's cult, or at least was a year ago.

facebook.com/fullcirclevenice/photos/pb.294429030716348.-2207520000.1408160653./317847455041172/?type=3&theater

I wonder how common it is for people who break out of these oppressive religions to get caught up in cults.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Unfortunately, she seems to be heavily involved in Andrew Keegan's cult, or at least was a year ago.

facebook.com/fullcirclevenice/photos/pb.294429030716348.-2207520000.1408160653./317847455041172/?type=3&theater

I wonder how common it is for people who break out of these oppressive religions to get caught up in cults.

I read that she went to Israel and was a Christian back in 2012 but since then I think she leans toward more buddhist/meditation/spiritual things. Hopefully she is not too involved with Keegan's thing. He's certainly.....different. Doesn't surprise me she would swing from one extreme to the other.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Getting hit by her father taught her that it is OK to get hit by men. Never talking about sex, she was wasn't taught limits or what is apporiate. Undoubtedly taught women should be submissive also. She wasn't raised with the tools to have successful relationships. She broke the cycle of abuse but is traumatized for life. I hope she cut off the relationship with her mother until the mother ends her "denial".

I looked up her mother, who is now a "Christian Life Coach" and she has tons of pics with all of her daughters, so I guess they are ok now.

People tend to mellow out when they're older, after they've screwed up their kids :/

[patsymae]

Not sure why I picked this thread to read, but so glad I did. IMO she is great.