Catholic Star Vanessa Williams Is Frank About Her Abortion

Actress, singer, and former Miss America Vanessa Williams has a new memoir out, and damn. Williams is sharing tons of personal information from over the last few decades – the kind of stuff that the Kardashians could have turned into a dozen magazine covers and sobby Barbara Walters interviews by now.

One of the revelations is that Williams had a secret abortion (so secret that her parents didn’t even know) after an unplanned teenage pregnancy. On Nightline, reporter Juju Chang asked Williams if it was hard for her, as a “nice Catholic girl,” to get an abortion. Williams replied, “It’s frightening. Being pregnant is the most frightening thing that happens in your life and I knew in high school that that was something I was not prepared to do or fight or struggle with.” Later, her mother (who cowrote the book) added, “I’m sorry she had to deal with this by herself.”

Jezebel dubbed Williams an “unapologetic badass” for refusing to apologize for having had an abortion, but we’ll see if any Catholic leaders feel the same way.