It’s midnight in Los Angeles and Bella Thorne she lies on the bed at home. When she gesticulates, the nails of her right hand appear in Zoom, painted red, while the nails of her left hand are pink and shiny. Twenty-five years old, a career as an actress and influencer, some shadows that have gone public like stealing intimate photos, Italia feels close to her for many reasons, including her relationship with Benjamin Mascolo, which is now over. He wants to tell about the price of fame and exploitation of the female body with his works. In fact, at the Taormina Film Festival he made his debut with Color her red, a short film that is hard to digest. Difficult, because it is truer than reality, because it speaks of the same abuses that she herself condemned and endured until the age of 14. Within minutes, viewers – starting with more than 25 million followers on Instagram – are almost terrified. Without half measures, a bit like her, Bella Thorne seems to be when she worries about issues close to her heart.
Bella, after your debut behind the camera, at what stage of your career?
“Mentally, I feel like I’m in the right place: I’m trying to achieve greatness. I know I still have a lot to learn, but when I want something, I go and get it.”
How autobiographical is your short film?
“It has a metaphorical meaning, but there is also the abuse that I endured as a little girl: I took this element from my past to turn it into a universal women’s story. We women are treated like this, used… and I know what that means, but I didn’t shoot the short as therapy. No, I wanted to show you what it means to be made to doubt yourself. By putting it in black and white, I fully understood it, I gave shape to this awareness and turned it into a collective journey.
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How important is writing to you?
“It makes me feel at home, chained to the ground so I don’t get lost. I don’t want to be misunderstood: I believe in therapy because I’ve been doing it for a while now, but it’s not something you should force yourself to experience. Life itself is mostly therapy, but I have also used this tool for a few weeks or intermittently. Now I think that everyone is their own therapist because they have all the power they need inside.”
Is the “old pig” from the short a person you met in Hollywood?
“I met a lot of guys like him: I want to humiliate you, humiliate you with my abuse of power. It’s not just sexual abuse, it’s her terrible smell that you can smell on yourself. And yes, I have felt helpless in many situations in the past.
Is this a stop for every woman?
“For me, this is a fact: women are objectified, we saw them in all colors. But already at one time my grandmother and great-grandmother fought for rights, including for fair compensation, so I know what that means.
Is there a particular episode that marked you?
“I was blackmailed with some of my nude images. This man, whose name I will not name, although it is known to the law, used my body without me. I don’t know if I would have done it today, but I decided to do the only thing I could – put them on the network myself.
And then?
“Even today they accuse me of doing this to get attention as if it was my fault. But thanks to the involvement of the FBI, this man is on trial today.”
What did this very traumatic experience teach you?
“Get back the power of my body and don’t give a damn what others think. Sex means something different to me now, it’s a way to take responsibility, even though it’s still used against women as if it were a crime. You know? I do not need the approval of others, in any area: I look in the mirror and am proud of myself. Not always, I’m still working on it, but on my deathbed I just want to think about my grandchildren and their football games. Nothing else matters”.
What doesn’t matter?
“You have to assume that life is not fair. I don’t always remember it, but I still try to be the best version of myself, even if it means making myself more vulnerable.”