Beth Ditto puts her flawless stage performances down to a troubled childhood.
The former Gossip singer grew up in Arkansas, and was forced to endure a tough upbringing which included sexual abuse from an uncle.
When she finally came clean about the abuse to her family she recalls that “nothing happened”, though as she got older the 36-year-old did manage to channel her feelings into her singing career.
“I think that’s how I learned to dissociate,” she mused to Q magazine. “I think that’s why I’m a good… performer. Not to toot my own horn, but I think that’s why. Cos I’m really good at leaving my body. I think that’s why I’m good on the road, at things being unpredictable.
“That’s how I grew up. Nothing was ever stable. My mom was court ordered to have therapy, but in f**king Arkansas in the ‘70s? She didn’t have the tools. I got the f**k out of there as soon as I could.”
Beth was propelled to fame after Gossip released smash hit single Standing in the Way of Control in 2006.
Since then, Beth has gone on to launch a plus-size clothing range, modelled for Jean Paul Gaultier and become an outspoken supporter of the LGBT community. She also married her girlfriend Kristin Ogata, choosing to wear a gown by Gaultier for her nuptials.
“I just want to make people happy,” Beth sighed. “I do. My family, everyone. When I do photoshoots, meet people, label meetings, wherever, I just want to make the job easy. On everybody.
“And I just think that's coming from the house that I grew up in. There was so much anxiety all the time. That I just wanted my mother to be happy, my sisters and brothers to be happy., That’s all I ever wanted. I feel like that carries over.”
