Christina Aguilera has lashed out at critics of abused women who refuse to leave their partners, insisting it’s not as easy as it seems.
The Beautiful singer witnessed the beatings her mother took at the hands of her father as she was growing up, and has always been committed to standing up for domestic abuse victims, and in a new Paper magazine interview, she takes aim at those who can’t understand why victims at the other end of a fist or a slap – or worse – don’t just walk away.
“I hate when people say, ‘Why doesn’t she just leave?'” Christina says. “There’s psychological damage and mental abuse that comes with being in a situation like that. A lot of people don’t have the ability to vocalize it themselves or have the know-how to get out.”
The Genie in a Bottle singer has often spoken out about the abuse her mother was subjected to, and tells Paper, “I watched my mom have to be submissive, watch her Ps and Qs or she’s gonna get beat up (sic).”
And she admits what she saw as a child empowered her: “You can either be, unfortunately, so damaged by it that you take a turn for the worse, or you can feel empowered by it and make choices to never go down that route.”
