Oscar winner Marlee Matlin spoke her truth in her 2009 memoir, I’ll Scream Later, about her romance with actor William Hurt.
In the book, she chronicled a two-year relationship that she said was filled with physical and sexual abuse. They co-starred in the 1986 film, Children of a Lesser God — Matlin was 19, and Hurt was 35. The duo played lovers onscreen and that romance soon became a reality off-screen. Still, it wasn’t a healthy relationship for either of them.
Hurt did not deny the abuse allegations after her book came out, but his statement to Variety in 2009 wasn’t exactly him taking accountability either.
“My own recollection is that we both apologized, and both did a great deal to heal our lives,” he said. “Of course, I did and do apologize for any pain I caused. And I know we both have grown. I wish Marlee and her family nothing but good.”
Hurt passed away in March 2022 after a battle with prostate cancer. Matlin admitted to The Guardian on June 21 that his death sparked a debate over the abuse allegations. “On social media, I had to look at both sides of the conversations. They were trying to define me, and I would have none of that,” she said. “I wanted them to stop, but at the same time, I decided to step away from the conversation.”
Hurt and Matlin were both nominated for an Oscar for Children of a Lesser God, but she was the only one who walked away with the statuette that night.
In the book, 50 Oscar Nights, she recalled what the Broadcast News star told her after the ceremony, “’ So you have that little man there next to you. What makes you think you deserve it?’ I looked at him like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘A lot of people work a long time, especially the ones you were nominated with, for a lot of years to get what you got with one film.'”
About the author
Kristyn Burtt
News Writer, Men's Journal
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