Queen Latifah: "I was sexually abused"

Queen Latifah: "I was sexually abused"

American rapper Queen Latifah has spoken for the first time about a painful chapter of her personal life.

The rapper-turned-actress was sexually abused as a child.

The 39 year old Latifah told Essence magazine for its latest issue that the abuse occurred over a period of time. She was sexually abused by a teenager boy who was charged with watching her.

The Newark native said, "He violated me. I never told anybody; I just buried it as deeply as I could and kept people at an arm's distance. I never really let a person get too close to me. I could have been married years ago, but I had a commitment issue".

Queen Latifah, whose new album "Persona" is set to arrive in July, eventually told her parents and has gone through therapy to come to terms with what happened.