Vince Gill reveals his own sexual harassment experience: I never told anyone
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vince Gill accepts the Grammy for American Roots Song for "Kid Sister" at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S. , February 12, 2017. (Reuters)
The #MeToo and “Time’s Up” movements gained an unexpected voice this week as country music star Vince Gill opened up about his experiences with sexual harassment during a live performance in Nashville.
“I was in 7th grade, and a young, dumb kid,” he said.
“I had a gym teacher that acted inappropriately towards me and was trying to do things that I didn’t know what the hell was going on,” explained Gill. “I was just fortunate that I got up and I ran. I just jumped up, and I ran. I don’t know why. And I don’t think I ever told anybody my whole life.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gill, 60, had been performing at the Ryman Auditorium on Tuesday for the Country Radio Seminar when he decided to get personal with the crowd.
“We’re living in a time right now when finally people are having the courage to speak out about being abused,” he told concertgoers. “And I think that’s beyond healthy and beyond beautiful to see people finally have a voice for being wronged.”
The 21-time Grammy winner went on to play an unreleased song of his, titled “Forever Changed,” which was inspired by his experience with sex abuse.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“You put your hands where they don’t belong and now her innocence is dead and gone,” Gill sings. “God was watching and he knows your name / because of you, she’s forever changed.”
The musician first revealed the run-in with his gym teacher in 2014 during an interview with Rolling Stone, but has remained quiet about it ever since then.
“What’s been going on has even given me a little bit of courage to speak out,” Gill said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}