In the Season 3 premiere ofSpecial Forces: World’s Toughest Test– a show that puts celebrities in frightening, military-style training exercises – contestant andWild ThingsactressDenise Richardsopened up about a terrifying experience from her past. Richards revealed that she was sexually assaulted by a stranger when she was just 15 years old.
PerDecider, the account began when Richards was called in by the show’s instructors, Billy Billingham, a former SAS Sergeant Major, and Jovon “Q” Quarles, a veteran Navy SEAL, to ask why she signed on for the grueling show. Richards responded that she has often found herself in fearful situations in which she freezes up and cannot move.
“I’m completely overcome by certain fearful situations and I want to learn how to stay calm and do something,” Richards said. “Part of why I wanted to do this course was because I’ve been in situations where I freeze and I can’t function. I can’t even speak to protect myself.”
Richards first recalled aNovember 2022 incidentin which she and her husband, Aaron Phypers, were shot at in their truck by an irate driver.
“There was a situation that happened with my husband and I. We were driving. He wanted to take me to set. He didn’t want me going alone, thank God… And we were physically shot at in his truck. And I sat on the floor and was just, literally, I peed. I was so scared. I froze.”
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Details of Richards’s Assault Are Horrifying and All Too Familiar
Richards went on to recount the first time she ever froze in response to a terrifying situation: an assault she endured as a teenager, an incident she had only previously shared with her husband. “I was 15, and I noticed a man following me… He came up from behind me, put his hand around my mouth, grabbed my vagina, and started dragging me. And I froze. I couldn’t even scream for help.”
After recounting the horrible experience, Richards broke down in tears, then added, “It’s so scary to have that situation at that age and be so vulnerable… I have three daughters and I want them to never be able to go through that. And also if something God forbid happened, to be strong enough.”
Richards seemed surprised at how much she was willing to share with Billingham and Quarles, noting, “I think that I haven’t addressed a lot of what I have gone through… And it’s very terrifying. I don’t know if I would be able to get over my past.”
Sadly, stories like Richards’s are all too common. According tostatistics published by RAINN(Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), one out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime, and furthermore, a majority of child victims are between the ages of 12 and 17.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you’re able to call RAINN’s free, 24/7 national hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
