Grammy winner Bobby Brown just revealed a Catholic priest tried to molest him at age 10, and he believes the secret trauma was the reason behind his decades of drug/alcohol abuse and brushes with the law.
The 53-year-old R&B singer – who claims he hasn’t touched a narcotic in 20 years – was sent to a religious facility by social services after witnessing his mother Carole being beaten and arrested by police.
‘It wasn’t a very nice place to be for a child,’ Bobby recalled in his upcoming A&E Biography docuseries.
Grammy winner Bobby Brown just revealed a Catholic priest tried to molest him at age 10, and he believes the secret trauma was the reason behind his decades of drug/alcohol abuse and brushes with the law
‘One of the priests tried to molest me. He tried to touch my private parts…At that time, I was a young boy. I didn’t know what sexual boundaries were. I just knew I didn’t like being touched. Some things are hard to forget.’
Brown – who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 32 – fought back and eventually returned to the Orchard Park Projects where he grew up as one of eight children in Boston’s rough Roxbury neighborhood.
‘I had tucked it down so deep into my soul that I didn’t think that I would talk about it again,’ the My Prerogative hitmaker told People on Tuesday.
‘But talking about it really helped me get through a lot of other things that had been bothering me especially that. That really, really bothered me as a child. And as a grown adult, I think it was part of the reason I did things, other things – drugs, alcohol, why I abused myself. But being able to talk about it and get it out helps a lot.’
The 53-year-old R&B singer – who claims he hasn’t touched a narcotic in 20 years – was sent to a religious facility by social services after witnessing his mother Carole (L) being beaten and arrested by police
Bobby recalled in his upcoming A&E Biography docuseries: ‘It wasn’t a very nice place to be for a child. One of the priests tried to molest me. He tried to touch my private parts…At that time, I was a young boy. I didn’t know what sexual boundaries were. I just knew I didn’t like being touched. Some things are hard to forget’
Rough upbringing: Brown – who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 32 – fought back and eventually returned to the Orchard Park Projects where he grew up as one of eight children in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood
At age 12, Bobby co-founded the boyband New Edition in 1981 before going solo to much success in the late eighties and nineties where he was a pioneer in the new jack swing movement.
Brown wants to be a good example for his three children – son Cassius, nearly 13; daughter Bodhi, 6; and daughter Hendrix, 5 – with his manager-turned-second wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown.
‘We look at our children now going, “Wow! He was Cassius’ age when he saw that, witnessed that, had to endure that,”‘ the biracial 46-year-old marveled.
‘And so, yeah, that perspective is interesting as well.’
The My Prerogative hitmaker told People on Tuesday: ‘That really, really bothered me as a child. And as a grown adult, I think it was part of the reason I did things, other things – drugs, alcohol, why I abused myself. But being able to talk about it and get it out helps a lot’
Child star: At age 12, Bobby co-founded the boyband New Edition in 1981 before going solo to much success in the late eighties and nineties where he was a pioneer in the new jack swing movement (pictured in 1983)
March 21 family portrait: Brown wants to be a good example for his three children – son Cassius, nearly 13; daughter Bodhi, 6; and daughter Hendrix, 5 – with his manager-turned-second wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown
The biracial 46-year-old (R) marveled: ‘We look at our children now going, “Wow! He was Cassius’ age when he saw that, witnessed that, had to endure that”‘
The Masked Singer Crab’s new docuseries covers his turbulent 14-year marriage to the late, great R&B belter Whitney Houston.
Bobby insists the seven-time Grammy winner – who passed away, age 48, from from an accidental overdose in 2012 – would be alive today had they not divorced in 2007.
Three years later, Brown and Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina died, age 22, in an eerily similar way (unconscious in the bath) following a six-month medically-induced coma.
And in 2020, the Crank Yankers guest star’s son Bobby Jr. (with ex-girlfriend Kim Ward) was found dead, age 28, in his LA apartment after an overdose of alcohol, cocaine, and fentanyl.
‘She’d be alive today had we not divorced’: The Masked Singer Crab’s new docuseries covers his turbulent 14-year marriage to the late, great R&B belter Whitney Houston (R)
RIP: Three years later, Brown and Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina died, age 22, in an eerily similar way (unconscious in the bath) following a six-month medically-induced coma
RIP: And in 2020, the Crank Yankers guest star’s son Bobby Jr. (with ex-girlfriend Kim Ward) was found dead, age 28, in his LA apartment after an overdose of alcohol, cocaine, and fentanyl
Bobby said: ‘I always see them at beaches or in fields. They’re running away, but they’re laughing. And they’re always together. I didn’t have many dreams about Bobbi Kris before Bobby Jr. died. But then all of a sudden – floods of dreams…That’s enough for a father to feel like God has them’
‘I always see them at beaches or in fields,’ Bobby said.
‘They’re running away, but they’re laughing. And they’re always together. I didn’t have many dreams about Bobbi Kris before Bobby Jr. died. But then all of a sudden – floods of dreams…That’s enough for a father to feel like God has them.’
Brown still has two older children – son Landon, 35; and daughter La’Princia, 31 – from his relationships with Melika Williams and Kim Ward.
On Tuesday, the A Very Boy Band Holiday star attended the premiere of his two-part docu-series Biography: Bobby Brown, which starts streaming May 30 on A&E.
Starts streaming May 30 on A&E! On Tuesday, Brown (2-L) attended the premiere of his two-part docu-series Biography: Bobby Brown
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