Glenn Beck reveals family history of rape and abuse

last updated 8 January 2015

On the heels of airing a controversial skit that some said mocked campus rape, Glenn Beck is revealing a family history of rape and abuse. Saying he was tired of "being accused of standing with abusers," Beck noted that his father was repeatedly raped by different men — once while staying at a YMCA after running away from home, once by a man he caddied for, and once by a religious leader.

"My family is a shipwreck," he said tearfully. He continued:

"I have the sickness of self doubt. I have been passed generationally, the sickness — the effects, even if they are removed directly from you, you still feel the effects of what happened. And abuse was happening in my family, and I told my father... ten years ago that it would stop. Because it was now being passed to the grandchildren. He said it would. I said, 'It will dad, because if it doesn't, I will end it.' It was physical abuse, but it was not sexual abuse, at that time. My father never abused any of us sexually, that I know of. But my family has felt the ramifications of his abuse, and has felt the sexual abuse by others..." [YouTube]

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Matt K. Lewis is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com and a senior contributor for The Daily Caller. He has written for outlets including GQ Politics, The Guardian, and Politico, and has been cited or quoted by outlets including New York Magazine, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. Matt co-hosts The DMZ on Bloggingheads.TV, and also hosts his own podcast. In 2011, Business Insider listed him as one of the 50 "Pundits You Need To Pay Attention To Between Now And The Election." And in 2012, the American Conservative Union honored Matt as their CPAC "Blogger of the Year." He currently lives in Alexandria, Va.

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