Padma Lakshmi Says She Was Raped as a Teen

Padma Lakshmi has revealed that she was raped as a teen in an opinion piece published Tuesday by The New York Times.

Lakshmi said the alleged incident happened while she was dating a man she met at the Puente Hills Mall in a Los Angeles suburb.

The model-actress said she was motivated to speak out in the wake of two women accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of inappropriate sexual conduct. Kavanaugh has denied both women's accusations.

"I have nothing to gain by talking about this," Lakshmi wrote. "But we all have a lot to lose if we put a time limit on telling the truth about sexual assault and if we hold on to the codes of silence that for generations have allowed men to hurt women with impunity."