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Madonna has revealed how she was raped and held at knife point when she first moved to New York in the 1970s.
Writing a personal piece for Harper's Bizaar, the 55 year-old singer spoke of her early days in New York after moving there to try and make a career for herself. In the article she reveals the terrifying ordeal she suffered while she was there.
"The first year, I was held at gunpoint. Raped on the roof of a building I was dragged up to with a knife in my back, and my apartment was broken into three times."
"It was hard and it was lonely, and I had to dare myself every day to keep going," she writes.
This is the first time the public have been made aware of the troubles that surrounded the singer when she was younger, though she added that it made her a lot stronger and more determined to succeed.
Madonna has also recently created a short film entitled secretprojectrevolution. The film is, according to the description, to launch Art For Freedom, a global initiative for freedom of speech.
Watch secretprojectrevolution below:
Within her article, Madonna also expresses how she used to pose nude for art classes in order to pay her rent and how, after marrying film director Guy Ritchie, she struggled to adjust to living in England.
She added, "It wasn't for me ... I didn't understand pub culture. I didn't understand that being openly ambitious was frowned upon. Once again I felt alone."
Madonna now lives back in New York City with her four children after divorcing Guy Ritchie in 2008.
