For Felicia Robinson, it’s the biopic What Will Love Do? ‘, Tina Turner is beaten and bloodied by her then-husband and performance partner, Ike Turner, and runs down the highway. An abusive marriage with only 36 cents and a mobile card in her pocket.
Robinson, 42, was trying to get out of his abusive marriage in 2020 when he was drawn to the 1993 film that went viral around the world for its candid portrayal of Tina Turner’s violence. I realized that I was there. “I literally screamed,” she said.
She saw it when she was younger, and now felt like she understood everything Turner needed to get there. Looking back at Robinson’s interviews, books and songs helped him organize his own experiences.
“I could relate to that on a level that most people don’t understand,” she said. “She had this feeling of hopelessness in her, like, ‘I have to get out of this situation.’ I’m tired. I’m better than this. I’m stronger than this.”
In the wake of Turner’s death last week, millions were reminded of Turner’s generation-defining contributions to the music industry. But for some, it was her coming forward about an abusive relationship that stuck with her for decades. Her Ms. Turner helped change the conversation about her domestic violence by speaking openly about her own experiences and plucking up her courage to cut her ties in the first place.
For Robinson, Turner’s work made her feel not only understood, but hopeful for a different future. “That movie, her story, the book, it’s just hope. She gives you hope,” Robinson said. As time went on, she realized that Robinson should also break up with her husband. “She didn’t have to be with her husband to succeed in life.” And when it comes to Tina, she seems to have realized that. “
The film, starring Angela Bassett, was released in 1993, a decade before Turner came forward with violent abuse.
of interview Turner has written and described her marriage to Ike Turner as involving severe beatings, broken bones, financial abuse and sexual assault. In 1976, she managed to escape while her husband was sleeping at night and escaped from a Dallas hotel. Ike Turner died in 2007.
“I didn’t look back when I got out,” Turner said. 1981 People Magazinespoke publicly about the abuse for the first time.
In part, Turner’s current achievements are attributed to Tonya King, vice president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, who said, “She had the courage to speak at a time when domestic violence was still not widely spoken about. I mean,” he said. By sharing her own experience, Ms. Turner removed the embarrassment that comes with talking about abusive relationships and allowed other survivors to share their experiences. Some wanted to break up with an abusive partner.
“Her willingness to share her story inspired me as a black woman,” said Dr. King. “It showed many, including me, that I am not alone. Domestic violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, including celebrities like Tina Turner.”
Turner’s 1984 album Private Dancer was seen as a musical comeback after her divorce from Ike. On “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” one of her hits on this album, she’s often seen singing about unbridled romance. However, in the context of abuse, some see the chorus as a reminder that love does not condone violence.
“I think of that song as a celebration song for victims of domestic violence to say: What do does love matter? said Robinson. “Forget love. I have to get over this and move on.”
When women are in abusive relationships, they often don’t know how to end them. Fearing retaliation, financial ruin, and the consequences for your children can leave you at a loss as to how to move out.
Turner offered many solutions.
Sandy Sellus, 39, a Florida domestic violence survivor, saw What To Do With It in 1993 when she was 10 years old. She was inspired by Turner’s bravery, even though she couldn’t relate to her own experiences at the time.
“I knew Tina’s story before she became a victim,” she said. “She was the quintessential role model. She’s African-American and comes from a poor family.”
Terrace, who is black, met her future husband in Miami in the tenth grade. She said he first beat her in 2004, when she was 21, after the birth of her daughter and in front of her guests.
He told her, “If you listen to me this time, you will avoid it all.” she said to herself, “If you do what he says, everything will be fine.”
It was never enough.
Terrace said he continued his controlling and violent behavior over the years.
In 2021, she was hit with an uppercut by her husband. Her pregnant daughter was injured because she intervened by putting herself in the middle of her fight. Ms. Terrace saw her holding her waist, and she worried that she wouldn’t be able to see the birth of her grandson.
That was the breaking point. The two were 40 years apart, but after hearing Mr. Turner’s story, Mr. Terrace said that he realized the following. He realized he had a voice. I feel like if I stay silent, he wins. “
The same sentiment applied to Ruth Glenn, public affairs director for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Glenn said she read Turner’s memoir before she split from her abusive husband, and that Turner’s story “was stuck in her head throughout the trip.”
This book did not cause her to retire immediately. Glenn was shocked to read about Turner’s abuse, but “I had this feeling that maybe my abuse wasn’t so bad,” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘My husband looks like Ike, but not as physically abusive.'”
Over time, Glenn’s husband became increasingly violent and tried to kill her. He later died by suicide. Ten years later, Glenn returned to Turner’s book. She said she finally recognized herself in Turner’s story, and she was able to know that “someone like her can not only endure it, but get through it.”
For Robinson, in the first few years after her divorce, she often cried at the movie.
However, she said she felt a mixture of sadness and hope while rewatching the film recently. “Watching it again, I was both and it made me sad remembering the past and all the things I went through,” she said. “And there were tears of joy. It felt like I was out of there,” she added.
“I am a survivor.”
Susan C. Beachy Contributed to research.
