Not ashamed to talk about it

Hollywood star Charlize Theron has opened up about her childhood when her mother shot and killed her alcoholic father in self-defence, saying she is not “ashamed” to talk about the incident.

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The incident took place in June, 1991 in Benoni, near Johannesburg, when her father tried to harm Theron, who was 15 at that time.

“I’m not ashamed to talk about it because I do think that the more we talk about these things, the more we realise 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,” Theron said.

The 44-year-old actress said the only memory she has of her father, Charles Theron, was him being an alcoholic. “My father was a very sick man. My father was an alcoholic all my life. I only knew him one way, and that was as an alcoholic… it was a pretty hopeless situation. Our family was just kind of stuck in it,” Theron said.

Fateful day

Theron said her family was “incredibly unhealthy” owing to her father’s alcohol issues that has “scarred” her and her mother, Gerda. “Of course, I wish what happened that night would have never happened. It’s unfortunately what happens when you don’t get to the root of these issues.”

Theron recalled that on the day, her father was “so drunk that he shouldn’t have been able to walk when he came into the house with a gun”. “My mom and I were in my bedroom leaning against the door because he was trying to push through the door. So both of us were leaning against the door from the inside to have him not be able to push through. He took a step back and just shot through the door three times. None of those bullets ever hit us, which is just a miracle. But in self-defence, she ended the threat,” the actress added.

Theron said such an unhealthy family situation is not uncommon and she shares it with a lot of people. PTI