Tuiasosopo admitted he was molested as child during his interview with Dr. Phil. On Feb. 1, The Chicago Tribune reported that the man behind the Manti Te'o hoax has some deep-rooted issues that stem from his childhood. Aside from this confession, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo also offered an apology to Te'o... some people don't think that his apology was sincere, however.
"Tuiasosopo, 22, told Dr. Phil McGraw in the second part of an interview that he was molested repeatedly by a family friend starting at age 12. The alleged attacker wasn't identified and Tuiasosopo didn't disclose whether he had reported the abuse to authorities," reported The Chicago Tribune.
Tuiasosopo being molested as a child certainly is not an excuse for what he did to Te'o, but it (providing it is true) does explain his twisted idea of a joke. He says that his molestation was a direct correlation with the online relationship that he carried on with Te'o. Basically, it was a sort of self-validation for him, as strange as that may seem.
"[Tuiasosopo] contends that he devised the false persona of Lennay Kekua to help him live an alternate reality and make him feel that he was a good person after the trauma he experienced as a child" (Chicago Tribune).
Tuiasosopo may have been molested as a child, but does that make what he did any more acceptable?
© Effie Orfanides 2013
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