Alan Ritchson attempted to commit suicide after being the victim of multiple sexual assaults.
“I almost hanged myself,” the actor, who has appeared in shows like Blue Mountain State, Smallville, and Black Mirror and is currently starring in the Prime Video film Reacher, told the Hollywood Reporter.
He said he did it in the attic of his home in Encino, California, using an extension cord. “Everything happened so quickly, I was hanging out there,” he recalled. However, at the last minute, Ritchson changed his mind, as he had a vision in which his three sons asked him not to do this.
Ritchson, 41, said he sought help immediately after the disturbing incident. At age 36, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A few years later, at the age of 40, he learned that he, too, was living with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).
His suicide attempt came after years of sexual harassment while working in the modeling industry and then the acting world.
“There are very few benefits to being in the [modeling] industry. Let’s be honest, this is like legalized sex trafficking,” he said. “This industry is not regulated.”
One incident led to the father of three leaving the modeling world for good. “I was invited to shoot for a very famous photographer,” he recalled. “I was sent to a hotel room to pose naked, with the promise that he would then offer me a very lucrative campaign for a magazine and clothing line. This guy sexually assaulted me."
Later, as he successfully transitioned into the television and film industry, another devastating blow caused his mental health to deteriorate. According to him, after business meetings with a representative of the film fund, she began to threaten him. "She gave me an ultimatum to come to her room and said that if I didn't, she would destroy me and tell the media that I raped her," he said.
Although the threats came to nothing, the actor was devastated by what happened. “I was super depressed and didn’t know how to deal with it,” he explained. Soon after, he attempted suicide.
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