MARLEE MATLIN - MATLIN RALLIES FOR ABUSE VICTIMS

MATLIN RALLIES FOR ABUSE VICTIMS

Oscar winner MARLEE MATLIN is urging victims of domestic violence to leave their partners - insisting her allegedly abusive affair with WILLIAM HURT was "not worth it".
The 43-year-old deaf actress was only 19 when she began a two-year affair with 35-year-old actor Hurt - which she claims ended when it became physically abusive.
Matlin refuses to speak ill of Hurt, and credits him with helping her seek help for her alcoholism - but she has vowed to rally for abused women in the hope they'll escape a life of being battered and bruised at the hands of their partners.
She says, "It's absolutely not worth the life that you lead... There is a world out there that's better than where you are right now. Just open that doorknob and walk out. I understand it's not that easy but I've been there. You don't know how to call 911, how to ask a neighbour for help... but it's OK to leave."