CYBILL SHEPHERD - SHEPHERD: 'I WAS RAPED'

SHEPHERD: 'I WAS RAPED'

Actress CYBILL SHEPHERD has revealed she was once sexually assaulted by a famous actor when she attempted to cool their relationship. The former Moonlighting star plays the mother of a rape victim in new TV movie Open Window and admits she used her own experiences to prepare for the harrowing role. Speaking for the first time about her own ordeal on U.S. TV show Entertainment Tonight, Shepherd reveals her ex turned nasty when she told him she wanted to date other people. She recalls, "He jerked the necklace off of me and he threw me around the kitchen. He said to me, 'Don't even think of getting the keys to your car, because I have them, and you're not getting them to be able to get away.'" The unnamed actor demanded sex and Shepherd was terrified as he pinned her down. Eventually she wriggled free and ran to get help. She adds, "That changes your life forever. It takes awhile to trust men again. It takes awhile to trust yourself again. You wonder, 'How could I end up with someone who seems perfectly OK... to suddenly be demanding sex." Shepherd admits she never had the courage to report the incident, and years later received an offer to work with her attacker. She explains, "I said, 'I don't think so.'"