Trigger warning: This article includes references to childhood sexual abuse
Lukas Gage is opening up about a traumatic event from his past. In his new memoir, the actor discusses a time he was sexually abused by a camp counselor when he was younger. He wrote that he “disconnected from myself” during the incident, which he later revealed to his mom.
Lukas Gage said it “killed” him to hear his mom’s reaction to his truth
In his new book, I Wrote This for Attention, Lukas gets extremely vulnerable. He details the moment a camp counselor in his 20s forced him to perform sexual acts.
In an excerpt from the memoir, Lukas writes that his “skin felt dirty” and his stomach “tensed with fear” as the counselor came into his tent during the trip.
The Euphoria actor said the counselor told him to kiss the girl he was sharing a tent with. He explained that the man touched himelf while instructing him to take his shirt off and get closer to the girl.
“I hesitated, then reluctantly began taking off my shirt. Time began to speed up, and suddenly I wasn’t as frightened anymore. I was no longer present for it. A whole new avatar had emerged. I was so disconnected from myself — watching, detached, as if I were on my computer screen controlling one of my Sims.”
Lukas explained that after a while the counselor made “a noise of relief” and then “came on my sleeping bag.”
He opened up to his mom about the incident. Speaking to US Weekly, he said of her reaction: “I think, you know, as a mom, I feel like you don’t want to feel like you failed your kids. You just want the best for them. And there’s so many things that were out of her control, and you can only protect your kids so much.”
If you’ve been affected by these issues, you can reach out to the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline on 1-800-656-4673 or visit rainn.org
