Jenifer Lewis Recalls Being Molested by Pastor: ‘He Took Everything From Me’

Jenifer Lewis is opening up about one of the most traumatizing experiences of her life.

The actress appears on the latest episode of the TV One docuseries Uncensored, where she said being molested as a child nearly destroyed her life and career.

“I have absolutely no problem talking about my molestation. I talk about it because I want other women to confront that however they can,” she explained in a preview clip.

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While the Black-ish star addressed being molested in her memoir, she went into additional detail on Uncensored.

“I was in the church choir and choirs will visit each other’s churches, and I got to ride with the pastor. I was very excited. I was sitting up front. All of the sudden coming from the other church, he pulls over and leans over to me. I’m in the passenger seat, he leans over to me and he starts to kiss me,” she recalled.

Lewis said she fought back, but the experience caused long-term damage.

“He took everything from me in that moment. God. Because he was a man of God. My mother. Because after I told her, which I did, we just pushed it down and never talked about it again. And he took my career. Because the question I had asked him before he pulled over was … ‘do you think I could be a star?'” she shared. “When he touched me inappropriately, he took my mother, God and my career. He insulted everything that I was. My entire foundation for being alive, and I told.”

The episode of Uncensored airs Sunday at 10/9c on TV One. Watch the preview clip below.