Survivor Stories: Tina Turner

Photo credits: Los Angeles Times

“I was insanely afraid of that man,” she told People Magazine in 1981. After numerous instances of vile abuse, including being beaten with a shoe stretcher while she was pregnant, having coffee thrown at her while it was scalding hot, and being hit with a coat hanger, Tina Turner was ready to tell her tale.

This abuse came from the hands of her ex-husband and music partner, Ike Turner, who always denied claims that he abused his wife and expressed frustration at being demonized by the media. Contrarily, Tina stated that “I was afraid to put it out [talk about the abuse] because of what I would get from Ike.”

When Tina was 17, she met Ike and asked him to hear her sing. She was quickly made his lead singer, and they married in 1962. Tina promised not to leave him, but the changing circumstances led her to soon regret this sentiment.

“I felt obligated to stay there, and I was afraid,” Tina said. “I didn’t want to hurt him, and after he beat me up, I was sitting there all bruised and torn, and all of a sudden, I’m feeling sorry for him. Maybe I was brainwashed.”

By 1968, the abuse was so severe that Tina even considered suicide. A decade later, she felt able to leave Ike, expressing that she could no longer endure being married to him and watching the impact of their marriage on their four sons.

“I was living a life of death. I didn’t exist," she said. “But I survived it. And when I walked out, I walked. And I didn't look back.”

It was in 1981 that Tina decided to speak out about her experiences in an interview. Despite having fears that the interview could ruin her career, Tina did it anyway, which had the effect of increasing awareness of domestic violence worldwide, particularly due to her large audience.

"Women were not believed when they spoke out about domestic violence, so when Tina Turner, a well-respected and famous singer, spoke out, it gave other women the courage to do so, also," explained Dr. Lenore E. Walker, director of the US-based Domestic Violence Institute.

Over the years, her experiences kept playing a part in her career. Besides songs about her experiences, such as “Let’s Stay Together,” “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” and “Private Dancer,” she also published an autobiography titled I, Tina, to “get journalists off [her] back.”

In 2021, Tina was inducted on her own to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While she had been inducted before, in 1991, this was alongside her ex-husband, Ike. During her induction, actress Angela Bassett commented on Tina’s inspirational career.

“For Tina, hope triumphed over hate. Faith won over fear. And ambition eclipsed adversity. Tina is an inspiration, her story shows the strength of survivors and that there is hope for women experiencing abuse currently — there is both freedom and happiness after abuse.”

Tina’s story thus demonstrated that overcoming abuse is possible, and speaking out can have wondrous ripple effects.

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Jurisview Journal is a student-led blog that publishes biweekly articles about interesting criminal cases. Our aim is to shed light on cases that require justice or further exploration and provide input on controversial legal events. We also publish infographics to help victims or those who wish to educate themselves on legal issues. 

In this series, Survivor Stories, we explore and share the stories of survivors of violence and crime. Through this, we advocate for justice and more attention to victims such as the survivors we feature.