Actresses as well as fans were enlightened by Anna Kendrick‘s candid revelation in an interview very recently wherein she went on to share about the personal struggles she had endured and had taken a break from acting. The woman, known best for roles in Pitch Perfect and Up in the Air, has always been one to draw a veil of privacy around her private life. Here, though, she spoke freely about the emotional toll that her rather long-shelved past relationship had taken on her mental and physical health.
Kendrick said that she realized that the very moment that she freed herself from that toxic dynamic, she started facing the aftermath of the trauma which hurt. She recalls knowing when she had to take a step away from her career. “I went to my agents and said, ‘I need a break.’ I knew I couldn’t keep working through this pain,” she said, pointing out how her emotional state was impacting her ability to function professionally.
The actress said that the extent of abuse is ’emotionally and psychologically damaging.’ While she is not talking much about her abuser, Kendrick said that in the eyes of her abuser, she was ‘broken,’ and in order to ‘deserve better,’ she had to ‘fix’ herself first. “I thought I was broken, and I needed to fix myself in order to deserve better,” she admitted, noting how abuse warped her perception of herself.
In the interview, Kendrick spoke about the stigma that surrounds abused relationships, especially those that are under the spotlight. She mentioned the pressure to maintain an image and how this contributed to her silence during the ordeal. “There’s this expectation that because you’re successful or in the spotlight, you shouldn’t experience these things. But abuse doesn’t discriminate,” she explained.
Her retirement from acting gave her the room to heal, and Kendrick says she discovered salvation through therapy to mend. Today, she hopes speaking out may help send a message that she is not alone when struggling. “I want people to know it’s OK to step away, take care of yourself. That’s what saved me.”
Anna Kendrick’s willingness to speak about such a delicate topic increases one’s awareness toward the complexities in dysfunctional relationships and the need for love toward oneself, even on those who seem to be living with everything one needs.
