Slipknot’s Corey Taylor says he had a ‘responsibility’ to speak out about childhood sex abuse

Metal frontman talks about using his platform for 'inspiration and guidance'

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has spoken about his reasons for speaking out about the sexual abuse he suffered in his childhood.

Taylor appeared on Viceland’s The Therapist recently, revealing that he was “raped by someone in the neighbourhood” as a child.

Now, in a new interview with Revolver, Taylor spoke about having a “responsibility” as a famous musician to use his platform for “inspiration and guidance”.

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“There’s an unwritten responsibility that comes with this gig, that people, they look to you for inspiration and guidance whether you like it or not,” he said. “And I know a lot of people that don’t like that responsibility. I take it very, very seriously. So in a lot of ways, I try to lead by example. And yeah, it’s uncomfortable to open up like that, but at the same time, if you can’t talk about an issue, how are you going to fix it?”

Taylor continued: “I also know there’s a giant stigma that comes with therapy and dealing with issues, with demons. A lot of people don’t want to talk about it or look down at it or tend to make fun of other people for having it or engaging in it. I’m trying to break that down by showing people that, yes, I go to therapy as well and I’m still trying to work out my demons and the things I went through in my life. Will I ever get it all figured out? Probably not. But that’s why it’s a process. So if me bearing my shit and laying it all out helps people start to work on theirs as well, then where’s the negative part of that?”

Appearing on the Viceland show, Taylor opened up about the abuse he endured as a 10-year-old, saying: “Where we were living at the time—we moved around a lot so obviously I had to make friends quickly. There was really only one person to hang out with, to play with and he was this 16-year-old kid. And he would invite me over to his house to play music and one day it became something else.”

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“I didn’t tell anybody for a long time because he threatened to hurt me and threatened to hurt my mom.” Taylor added. “He ended up burning his house down. They fled in the night, it was kind of crazy. It took me a long time to feel safe. I didn’t tell anybody until I was, probably, 18. By that time, I had found my tribe, as it were, of misfits”.

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