Common: Rapper says he was molested as a child in new memoir Let Love Have the Last Word

Common says disturbing memories came back to him while preparing for his role in The Tale with Laura Dern

Common promotes his memoir Let Love Have the Last Word at Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue on 7 May, 2019 in New York City. ((Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images))

Rapper Common has alleged that he was sexually abused as a child, sharing his account in his newly published memoir.

The 47-year-old rapper and Academy Award winner says painful memories came back to him while preparing for his role in The Tale (a 2018 drama about child sexual abuse) with Laura Dern.

“One day, while talking through the script with Laura, old memories surprisingly flashed in my mind,” Common – real name Lonnie Lynn Jr – recounts in his memoir Let Love Have the Last Word, according to an excerpt published by People.

“I caught my breath and just kept looping the memories over and over, like rewinding an old VHS tape…I said ‘Laura, I think I was abused.'”

Common says the abuse happened when he was around 9 or 10 years old and living in Chicago.

He says he was made to share a bed with a family friend during a visit in Cleveland, upon which the man molested him and asked Common to "perform it on him" too.

"I kept repeating ‘No’ and pushing him away,” he adds. “I felt a deep and sudden shame for what happened.”

The rapper now believes he "buried" the memories for years. He says he is still working with a therapist to help him process them.

If you have been affected by this story, you can contact the following organisations for support:

https://www.mind.org.uk/

https://www.rainn.org/