Sheryl Lee Ralph recently spoke about being sexually assaulted by a “famous TV judge” earlier in her career.
The conversation took place about 34 minutes into Monday’s (March 20) episode of Way Up with Angela Yee. Ralph said the incident occurred while on a promotional show run at a network event in Louisiana.
Before describing what happened, Sheryl clarified that Judge Greg Mathis was not the “famous TV judge” in her assault. Instead, Ralph described Mathis as “a great man” she loves. But Ralph did not name-drop the alleged assailant.
“I’m at a very public place. I was suited; I had my suit on. I was handling my business for the television show I was on at that time. He and I were on the same network,” Sheryl said.
Sheryl added:
“This man walked in, grabbed me by the back of my neck, turned me around, and rammed his nasty a** tongue down my throat. And everybody at the network saw it.”
Ralph says she called the then-mayor of New Orleans, Marc Morial, who was willing to send the police to the event’s location. But before she could make the decision, Sheryl claims a network executive tapped her on the shoulder, asking her not to involve the police.
“They did not want any bad press around their show, and did not care what had just happened to me,” Ralph said.
She alluded that the exec implied the unauthorized kiss “wasn’t so bad after all.” The Emmy-winning actress said that kind of interaction with execs prevents women from coming forward with their ‘Me Too’ experiences. She didn’t reveal whether she’s ever confronted the TV judge.
Ralph first mentioned similar inappropriate experiences within the entertainment industry in her book Diva 2.0. Based on Lee’s personal recollections, the self-help book was released on March 10.
Before revealing the “famous judge” incident, Sheryl described a separate violation that had come after two others.
“It’s like I can think about these things. I tell you, there was one incident where it was like the third time something like this had happened to me. I thought to myself, what did I do to deserve that? My skirt is at my knees, I have on a sweater blouse. What made this man think that he could just come over and put his hands on my body in front…he didn’t know me. He did not know me.”
Ralph said years later, the same man ended up sitting at a table across from her with no recollection of what he had done. So, she allegedly confronted him that night.
Sheryl says the most shocking part was that “everybody around the table was appalled that [she] would stand up for [herself].” She claims the other guests told her she should be ashamed and questioned her timing.
Though these incidents are years behind her, Ralph encourages women in Hollywood to speak up about similar experiences.
“It’s hard, I would say now-a-days speak up, tell your truth, do not carry the burden of that pain, especially if it’s something you feel that you can’t work through. Because you know situations like this, experiences like this drive some people crazy. It hurts them to their core. They get changed forever.”
