Charlize Theron Opens Up About Her Mother’s Act of Self-Defense

Charlize Theron, the acclaimed actress, has courageously revealed that she is “not ashamed” to discuss the life-altering moment when her mother shot and killed her father in an act of self-defense.

At the age of 15, Theron found herself hiding in a room with her mother as her alcoholic father fired bullets through the door.

In an interview with NPR, Theron shared, “None of those bullets ever hit us, which is just a miracle.

But in self-defense, she ended the threat.”

Theron emphasized the importance of discussing such experiences, stating, “The more we talk about these things, the more we realize we are not alone in any of it.”

Raised on a farm near Johannesburg in South Africa, Theron grew up with her mother Gerda and father Charles.

Reflecting on her upbringing, Theron described her father as a “very sick man” and opened up about the challenges of living with an alcoholic, labeling it a “pretty hopeless situation.”

“The day-to-day unpredictability of living with an addict is the thing that you sit with and have kind of embedded in your body for the rest of your life, more than just this one event of what happened one night,” she explained.

Theron recounted the terrifying incident, revealing that her father was so intoxicated that he “shouldn't have been able to walk” when he entered their home carrying a gun.

Theron and her mother barricaded themselves in her bedroom, pushing against the door to prevent her father from entering.

Despite their efforts, her father stepped back and fired three shots through the door.

Miraculously, none of the bullets struck them, and Theron's mother acted in self-defense to neutralize the threat.

The violence Theron experienced within her family is something she believes many others can relate to.

She stated, “I'm not ashamed to talk about it because I do think that the more we talk about these things, the more we realize we are not alone in any of it.

I think, for me, it's just always been that this story really is about growing up with addicts and what that does to a person.”

In addition to addressing her personal experiences, Theron discussed another distressing incident she encountered in her career.

She shared an encounter with a film director who inappropriately touched her after inviting her to audition at his home.

Theron revealed that she blamed herself for not reacting assertively in the situation.

“I put a lot of blame on myself… that I didn't say all the right things, and that I didn't tell him to take a hike, and that I didn't do all of those things that we so want to believe we'll do in those situations,” she expressed.

Theron's latest film, Bombshell, tackles the topic of s**ual harassment, drawing inspiration from the real-life experiences of women who worked for US broadcaster Fox News.

In the movie, Theron portrays Megyn Kelly, a former TV presenter who came forward with allegations of s**ual harassment against the then-CEO and chairman Roger Ailes.

The actress emphasized that s**ual harassment is not limited to physical assault or rape, but also encompasses the psychological damage inflicted by everyday casualness in language, touch, or threats of job loss.

Theron stressed that she has personally encountered such situations.

As Theron bravely shares her stories and delves into challenging subject matters through her work, she aims to promote