Marcus Mumford reveals he was sexually abused as a 6-year-old child
Marcus Mumford revealed that he was sexually abused when he was 6 years old.
“I hadn’t told anyone about it for 30 years,” the singer, 35, said in a GQ interview published Wednesday, clarifying that his abuser was not in his family nor in the church.
The former Mumford & Sons member’s mother, Eleanor Mumford, learned about the experience “in a f–king song, of all things,” he added of the single “Cannibal” from his upcoming “Self-Titled” album, out Sept. 16.
The song’s lyrics include, “I can still taste you and I hate it / That wasn’t a choice in the mind of a child and you knew it.”
When Eleanor heard the tune and asked her son what it was about, he replied, “‘Yeah, it’s about the abuse thing.'”
Marcus explained, “Once we get through the trauma of that moment for her, as a mother, hearing that and her wanting to protect and help and all that stuff, it’s objectively f–king hilarious [how she found out].”
The record producer went on to tell the outlet that the album’s second song, “Grace,” details the effects of the abuse he suffered.
“That thing that happened when I was 6, that was the first of a string of really unusual, unhealthy sexual experiences at a really early age,” he explained. “[I did a] string of really unhealthy shit when I was under the age of 12, which set my brain up in a way to deal with stuff later on in life in an imbalanced way.
“So the last three years has just been trying to look at that and correct some balance,” Marcus said.
The musician clarified that he has never been “a perpetrator of sexual abuse” himself and “can’t really understand why” — although he’s done his “fair share of c–tish behavior.”
Marcus married Carey Mulligan, in April 2012, and he shares two children with the 37-year-old actress — daughter Evelyn, 6, and son Wilfred, 5.
While the songwriter is best known for his work as Mumford & Son’s leading man, Page Six reported his plans to go solo in June.
