Supergirl's Melissa Benoist reveals "I am a survivor of domestic violence" in an emotional video

E! Online

In a 14-minute Instagram video posted today, Benoist revealed graphic details of the abuse she received from a perpetrator whom she doesn't name. "I am a survivor of domestic violence or IPV (intimate partner violence), which is something I never in my life expected I would say, let alone be broadcasting into the ether," she said, before describing her abuser. "He was a magnanimous person, who didn't really give you a choice not to be drawn to him. He could be charming, funny, manipulative, devious." Benoist added: "The stark truth is I learned what it felt like to be pinned down and slapped repeatedly, punched so hard the wind was knocked out of me, dragged by my hair across pavement, head butted, pinched until my skin broke, shoved into a wall so hard the drywall broke, choked," she said. "I learned to lock myself in rooms but quickly stopped because the door was inevitably broken down. I learned to not value any of my property—replaceable and irreplaceable. I learned not to value myself."