00:00Thank you so much to Variety and Purina for this honor, genuinely.
00:05I've thought a lot about what it means to be someone who is courageous.
00:10For me, courage isn't necessarily being fearless.
00:15Sometimes it's being very, very afraid, being unsure of what will happen next, and choosing to be honest anyway.
00:24Sometimes it's deciding that something you've carried alone for years might be worth sharing if it could help someone else
00:32feel less alone.
00:34But I could have never imagined that sitting down to record an episode of Giggly Squad two years ago would
00:42lead me to standing here tonight.
00:44That episode wasn't even supposed to be about my experience as a survivor of abuse.
00:51I was just talking to my friend the way I do twice a week, now on Sirius, when I decided
00:59it was time to share a piece of me that I'd been holding back for almost a decade.
01:04I shared that when I was 19 years old, I was in a relationship that was physically and mentally abusive.
01:11And I remember saying that I was fully brainwashed, because that's honestly what it felt like.
01:17I couldn't even legally drink.
01:20I had never been exposed to anything like that before.
01:24I never thought that that could be me.
01:27When you're that young and in your situation like that, you don't necessarily have the perspective or the language to
01:36understand what's happening.
01:38You just know that something is wrong, but you're living inside of it, so it becomes normal.
01:44I think a lot of us walking around assume that abuse looks a certain way.
01:50A kind of person, a kind of relationship, but that's simply not true.
01:56It doesn't ask for permission.
01:58It doesn't care how polished, confident, or put together you seem.
02:04It can happen to anyone, and it does.
02:07Each year, more than 12 million people, one in three women, and one in four men, will experience abuse.
02:15But we don't often hear their stories due to the stigma associated with being a survivor.
02:22I felt that stigma.
02:24For a long time, I was very ashamed of that relationship.
02:29I think I felt like it said something about me, like I should have known better.
02:35I should have somehow been able to see it more clearly.
02:39But I don't feel that way anymore.
02:41When I look back, I'm actually extremely proud.
02:46I'm proud of that 19-year-old girl who got herself out, and I'm proud of the woman it turned
02:52me into.
02:53But because of how I choose to move through it, I also know that my story is not unique.
03:00That was actually one of the reasons I decided to talk about it on my podcast.
03:06I remember thinking, I don't even know if I've ever even said this before, but I'm going to say it
03:12now.
03:13Because I knew there were other people listening who had something similar that they've gone through.
03:19And that thought mattered more to me than my own fear of saying it out loud.
03:24When you've been through something that changes your understanding of what safety feels like,
03:30the little things that make you feel safe again can mean everything.
03:34For me, one of those things is my relationship with my cat, Daphne.
03:41People who know me...
03:42Yeah, you can clap for it, Daphne.
03:47People who know me are probably not surprised that I've made my cat a core part of my personality.
03:53I literally named a clothing brand after her.
03:57She's amazing.
03:58She's stunning.
03:58She's a model.
04:00But Daphne has been there for the versions of me that nobody else sees.
04:04She just curls up on my chest, purrs, and everything is fine for a second.
04:10No context needed, no story to tell, just presence.
04:16I think that's the incredible thing about our pets.
04:19They don't need us to explain what's going on.
04:22They just stay.
04:23They give us a sense of safety and remind us that we are loved even when we don't feel our
04:29strongest.
04:30And that's why the Purple Leash Project means so much to me.
04:34Leaving an abusive situation is already difficult enough.
04:38No one should have to choose between their own safety and the pet who has helped them feel safe, loved,
04:45and less alone.
04:46I know that's an impossible decision.
04:48I can't ever imagine leaving Daphne behind.
04:52So tonight, I want to ask you to help us make sure no survivor has to make that impossible choice.
04:59Learn about the issue of domestic violence, support the Purple Leash Foundation, and other organizations helping survivors and their pets.
05:09Donate if you can, and if someone in your life tells you they're experiencing abuse, believe them.
05:16Listen to them and remind them that they're not alone.
05:19It didn't feel like a major act of courage when I shared my story on Giggly Squad, but I'm so
05:26grateful to receive this award tonight and proud that I finally told my story.
05:30If sharing it means even one person realizes what happened to them isn't their fault and that there is a
05:38way forward, then it was all worth it.
05:41Thank you to Variety for this incredible honor and to Purina for recognizing that sometimes the thing that helps you
05:48feel safe, again, has four paws.
05:51And Daphne, thank you for being that for me.
05:55This one's for you.
