Missy Elliott Vowed To Save Her Mom From An Abusive Relationship Once When She ‘Made It’ In Music
Missy Elliott’s trailblazing music career had a motivation that she recently discussed. The rapper revealed that her mother was the inspiration to push herself to succeed. She wanted to help her mom escape an abusive relationship.
Elliott’s answer was prompted by a fan who wanted a documentary made on the “Lose Control” artist.
“I wanna know like what inspired her and what was her drive to remain persistent in a male-dominated industry at the time,” the fan wrote.
“I seen many strong women in the industry be4 me that made it through,” Elliott replied. “My mom was in [an] abusive relationship so I told her I would make it so I could get her out of that situation & I would make sure she’d never have to work again that’s what really kept me going.”
I seen many strong women in the industry be4 me that made it through🙌🏾 & my mom was in a abusive relationship so I told her I would make it so I could get her out of that situation & I would make sure she’d never have to work again that’s what really kept me going🙌🏾💜 https://t.co/JHDvBysNbE
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) April 24, 2023
The hip-hop legend has been open about the abuse she’s witnessed growing up. In a 2003 interview with The Guardian, she said that her father pulled a gun on both her and her mother. She also brought up that he would beat her mother almost daily.
“My father was very abusive, and it was hard for my mother at first to leave because we had depended on him for so long,” she told the outlet. “Sometimes you kind of get adjusted to getting that beating.”
When Elliott was 14, she and her mother left her father after family members convinced her mother to leave him.
“When we left, my mother realized how strong she was on her own, and it made me strong,” she said. “It took her leaving to realize.”
If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.