Corey Feldman Says Rejection of Child Abuse Documentary Left Him With PTSD

Corey Feldman says that the rejection of his self-financed documentary (My) Truth: The Rape of 2 Coreys, in which he shared allegations of the abuse that he and his late friend, Corey Haim endured as children, left him with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Released in 2020, (My) Truth: The Rape of the 2 Coreys documents the sexual abuse Feldman and Haim allegedly suffered as child actors in the 1980s. Then known as "The Two Coreys," the actors starred in movies including The Goonies, Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream.

Feldman publicly named Jon Grissom, Alphy Hoffman and Marty Weiss as his alleged abusers in 2017. In the documentary, Feldman alleged that Haim told him that he was sexually assaulted by Charlie Sheen while they were filming the movie Lucas in 1986 when Haim was 13 and Sheen was 19.

In a statement provided to Entertainment Weekly, Sheen denied the allegations and said: "These sick, twisted and outlandish allegations never occurred. Period."

Haim died in March 2010, after contracting pneumonia. It was suspected at the time that Haim had died from complications from drug use, as he had struggled with drug addiction since he was a teenager.

During an interview with fashion designer Mel Ottenberg for Interview magazine, Feldman spoke about the tepid reception his film received and how it affected him.

When asked about how he deals with the naysayers on TikTok and Instagram, Feldman said: "I used to let it affect me very deeply, but I've got elephant skin at this point. After what I went through with the documentary, watching the whole thing get torn apart and stolen from me after I spent so much time and energy and money, all of my resources—to watch it get ignored and then have all this negative blowback and gaslighting, it was a really dark period that caused more PTSD and trauma in my life than the actual abuse that I suffered as a child."

Feldman said that he leaned on therapy and focused on making music to help himself get through the trauma.

"There came a point where it was like I had to go back to trauma therapy, and I hadn't been in therapy for 15, 20 years," he said. "I had to dive deep into my spirituality and go, 'I'm not going to pay attention to the negative anymore. I need my happiness, I need my spirituality, I need my peace. And the only one that's going to give that is God.'

"I'm a big believer, and I don't think that there's any way that I could have survived if I kept going the way I was. Instead, I'm focusing on the positive things in my life: my family, my spirituality, my new album, my box set, and this new documentary about my music career."

Back in 2013, journalist Barbara Walters accused Feldman of "damaging an entire industry" with his abuse allegations when he made an appearance on ABC's The View while promoting his memoir, Coreyography.

"I'm saying that there are people that were the people that did this to both me and Corey [Haim] are still working, are still out there. They're some of the richest, most powerful people in this business," Feldman explained. "And they do not want me saying what I'm saying right now."

Feldman and Haim had claimed that they were "passed around to pedophiles," adding: "They would throw these parties where you'd walk in and it would be mostly kids and there would be a handful of adult men. They would also be at the film awards and children's charity functions."

"Are you saying that they're pedophiles?" Walters, who died in December 2022, asked. "And that they're still in this business?" Feldman confirmed that yes, that is what he was alleging.

"And that's what you're saying in your book," The View co-host Sherri Shepherd chimed in. "When you talk to parents, Corey, there are a lot of parents out there, who want to put their kids in this business. They're cute, they're great actors, what would you say to a parent who just has the best of intentions coming here with their child? If you're saying there's a lot of predators in this industry."

"It's a many-feathered bird," Feldman responded. "Be careful what you wish for. That's what I'll tell you. Don't into it with naivety, don't go into it thinking it's all roses and sunglasses—"

"You're damaging an entire industry," Walters cut in. Feldman apologized to Walters, adding that he was not trying to. "I'm trying to say that it's a very important, serious topic," he emphasized.

In a statement emailed to Newsweek in 2020, Feldman commented on his 2013 exchange with Walters and the concept of victim-shaming.

"The gratuitous display of carelessness and thoughtlessness for the weight and importance for what I was trying to put across, showed a particular callousness to the concept that anyone in Hollywood could be doing something wrong," Feldman said. "Even worse, the concept that even if they were I should just endure the personal pain and keep my mouth shut, because that's what is most convenient for others. It's shocking that only a few years ago, this was completely acceptable in the media."

He continued: "Because of the #Kids2 movement and #Metoo movement, fortunately many people have begun to realize that silencing a victim or shaming a victim is no longer acceptable—especially when it comes to children. That's why I created My Truth documentary, so that people can gain a better understanding."