In an upcoming “Red Table Talk” episode titled “That Was the Darkest Time in My Life,” Grammy Award-winning singer Ashanti, her younger sister Kenashia “Shia” Douglas, and their mom Tina Douglas opened up about their experience with domestic violence.
Shia’s years-long relationship with her ex-fiancé, whose identity she has chosen not to disclose to the public, was dominated by physical and verbal abuse, which consistently left her with bloody bruises all over her body. In an exclusive clip, Shia and Ashanti described how he continued to stalk her after an incident where Shia claimed that he had hit her so hard that it knocked her teeth out. Ashanti recalled having so much adrenaline that day, she had to pull up to her sister’s location by herself with a baseball bat to defend her.
“I was like, ‘Oh, nah.’ And I went into the garage, I got the bat, I pulled up in the truck, I had vaseline,” the “Foolish” hitmaker said.
Both Ashanti and Shia have been vocal about domestic violence. Last month, in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, both of them took to Instagram to document Shia’s abuse, posting graphic pictures of her bloody face and bruises on her body.
“Words will never be able to express the amount of pain, fury and disgust I feel reliving these moments… but at the same time I am so proud of how strong, courageous, resilient and unbreakable you are. My sister is a warrior! I love you deep and infinitely,” Ashanti wrote. “Thank you for being so brave and bringing awareness to this evil, vile and sad behavior that so many women face every day. You did it! You won! Some women feel so scared that they have no way out… by sharing your story you bring hope, strength [and] continue to raise awareness for Domestic Violence.”
The new episode of “Red Table Talk” featuring Ashanti, Shia, and Tina will premiere Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 12:00 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. PT on Facebook Watch.