The Canadian music star recounts these attacks for the first time in a documentary about his life and career premiered this week at the Toronto International Film Festival
Canadian singer and songwriter Alanis Morissette
The Canadian singer and songwriter Alanis Morissette affirms in the documentary Jagged , presented this Monday at the Toronto International Film Festival , that she was raped by several men when she was 15 years old, according to The Washingtont Post , which had access to the documentary before it was released. premiere.
“It took me years of therapy to admit that there had been some kind of victimization on my part. I would always say that I was consenting, and then they would remind me that I was only 15 years old. You cannot consent at that age. Now I think they are all pedophiles, that it was a rape of minors, “says Morissette in the documentary, produced by HBO and directed by Alison Klayman. In those years, Morissette began his career in the Canadian musical sphere. The 47-year-old Ottawa-born artist achieved international success with Jagged Little Pill , an album released in 1995 that sold some 33 million copies. He has recorded seven subsequent albums and, throughout his career, has won seven Grammy Awards.
Morissette does not cite the names of her abusers and regrets that many individuals criticize such a revelation after several decades. “Women don’t wait; our culture does not listen, “he says in the documentary in an interview recorded at his home in California. It also leaves the music industry in a bad way due to its lack of support in those difficult times. “I told some people and it fell on deaf ears,” he says, stressing that he did not share episodes from his adolescence to protect his parents, siblings and future partners. As reported by the American newspaper, Morissette had no plans to attend the premiere or make a virtual presentation at the festival. The reasons for this decision are unknown.
Jagged is scheduled several days this week at the Toronto movie date. The HBO network will broadcast it on its platform starting this fall, as part of the next series of musical documentaries Music Box. Before this work, Alison Klayman directed other works that were applauded by critics and the public. In 2013, he filmed Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry , focusing on the renowned Chinese artist and activist. In 2018 he released Take Your Pills , where he addresses the use of stimulants and their impacts on various spheres of American society.
Alanis Morissette had already recognized in interviews her fight against anorexia and bulimia, underlining that the fame at a young age and the atmosphere of the show took their toll. His confession in the documentary Jagged accounts for another disastrous episode in those years. He was also the victim of the financial mismanagement of one of his representatives (a robbery estimated at five million dollars). She has also shared her experience related to postpartum depression. Morissette obtained US citizenship in 2005 and has been married since 2010 to rapper Mario Souleye Treadway. The couple has three children.