Tonya Harding reveals her side of ‘roller-coaster life’ ("abuse from mother, ex-husband")

TODAYShow ^ | TODAYShow

[old-and-old]

By Mike Celizic TODAYShow.com contributor updated 10:45 a.m. ET, Thurs., May. 15, 2008 After a “roller-coaster life” that she says includes a childhood of abuse at the hands of her mother and a rape at gunpoint by her husband and two other men — a roller coaster that took her from the pinnacle of sports stardom to turmoil and ignominy — Tonya Harding says she’s at peace. And she wants people to know that she’s not the cartoon figure that she’s been portrayed to be.

“I am just a person who has led a roller-coaster life my whole entire life,” Harding told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira Thursday in New York, where she is promoting the publication of her tell-all book, “The Tonya Tapes.” There is much in the book that is not pretty, from the abuse she claims she suffered at the hands of her mother to the alleged rape, a story she had never told before.

[old-and-old]

mixed feelings on this. How do we really know?

[KoRn]

I wonder how she feels with her name being a verb in the political world now, thanks to the DNC. lol

[ConservativeMind]

Egads! Some people don't age well.

[Texas Eagle]

Tonya, you need Jesus. Plain and simple.

[robomatik]

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Isn’t she close to forty by now? Grow up and get over yourself, Little Girl. Yeesh!

[old-and-old]

I saw the picture and deliberately didn’t post it. It’s called manners and consideration for others:-)

[sionnsar]

a rape at gunpoint by her husband

no comment

[Lizavetta]

"You know, back before I went to Wellesley I qualified for the Olympic skate team, you know...."

[Morgana]

“”Jeff and two other guys — don’t know who they were because I couldn’t see who they were — they were in a different car — decided to drive me up to the mountains, put a gun to my head, and take themselves upon me ... They told me, this is what you are going to say. This is what you are going to do, and if you don’t, you’re not going to be here anymore.”

I always thought her ex..jeff gillooly was a looser. I always wondered why on Earth she married or stayed with such white trash. She was a star, she could have done better.

[Morgana]

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I believe it. Truly. It's a wonder she got as far as she did in the crazy world of ice skating, but it's a testimonial to her basic athleticism that she did.

[old-and-old]

pretty face,
believe it when I see it...your face that is :)

But, it has become a norm in US/West to just blame dad for a slap 56 years ago. Maybe she got raped and that did mess her up, but then, that’s only her side of the story

[yldstrk]

You could tell she was raised rough back when it happened. But Nancy K was a yuck too. Having an affair with her caoch.....sleazy.Glad the little Russian girl won that.

[Revel]

The picture in post # 11 in not Tanya. that is Nancy Kerrigan. The skater whose knee Tanya had whacked so that she could not skate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Kerrigan

[GovernmentShrinker]

Huh? The picture in post #11 is Tonya. Kerrigan has always had very dark hair (as in the picture on the Wikipedia page) and was much taller and slimmer.

[stylecouncilor]

ping

[Revolting cat!]

Now lissen to this sob story. Where I work there are two chicks that I see almost every day. I don't work with them, but I do have a misfortune to run into them. One looks like Tonya Harding, the other like Chelsea Hubbell before her face job. Dear Abby, What am I to do? Sign me SURROUNDED BY DOGS.

P.S. The other day I ran into a new employee, a chick who looks like Huma.

[Revel]

Opps...sorry...your right. Boy she sure looks different from today. I always remembered Nancy as being the pretty one. Tonya was the Marboro Girl.

[Moose4]

Rode hard, put up wet. Tonya’s proof that you can take the girl out of the trailer park, but you can’t always take the trailer park out of the girl.

}:-)4