COREY TAYLOR Says He Opened Up About Being Sexually Abused In Order To 'Lead By Example'

During a recent appearance on the Viceland show "The Therapist", Corey Taylor spoke about a very dark and painful moment in his childhood when he was raped at age 10 by a 16-year-old who lived in his neighborhood.

"He would invite me over to his house to play music, and one day it became something else," the SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman told "The Therapist" host Dr. Siri Sat Nam Singh. "I didn't tell anybody for a long time because he threatened to hurt me, threatened to hurt my mom."

Taylor also opened up about his suicide attempt when he was a teenager.

"I took a bunch of pills at my grandmother's house and just basically laid on the floor," he said. "And my ex-girlfriend's mom stopped at my grandma's house out of nowhere to check on me, to see how I was, [and] found me. An hour later, I'm drinking ipecac and throwing up into a bucket."

In a brand new interview with Revolver, Taylor was asked why he chose to share his story of being sexually assaulted. He responded: "There's an unwritten responsibility that comes with this gig, that people, they look to you for inspiration and guidance whether you like it or not. And I know a lot of people that don't like that responsibility. I take it very, very seriously. So in a lot of ways, I try to lead by example. And yeah, it's uncomfortable to open up like that, but at the same time, if you can't talk about an issue, how are you going to fix it? And that's one of the things that people don't understand. If you just don't say anything, that's not going to fix the problem. You fix a problem by working on it, you know?"

He continued: "I also know there’s a giant stigma that comes with therapy and dealing with issues, with demons. A lot of people don't want to talk about it or look down at it or tend to make fun of other people for having it or engaging in it. I'm trying to break that down by showing people that, yes, I go to therapy as well and I'm still trying to work out my demons and the things I went through in my life. Will I ever get it all figured out? Probably not. But that's why it's a process. So if me bearing my shit and laying it all out helps people start to work on theirs as well, then where's the negative part of that? I can take criticism, I can take all that shit. But if I'm leading by example, why not? And if me doing that helps people get help and help themselves in their life and make better decisions and do better things for other people, that spreads like wildfire. I would be a fucking asshole not to try to do that."

STONE SOUR's sixth album, "Hydrograd", is due out on June 30 and features the single "Song #3", which recently landed in the Top 10 on the rock radio chart.