Sylvester Stallone talks to his daughters on his podcast (Photo: screenshot from Unwaxed Podcast)
Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone recently revealed in a heartbreaking conversation with his daughters that he was born unwanted, explaining that his mother repeatedly told him she had tried to abort him.
The 78-year-old actor and director spoke about his difficult childhood during an interview with his daughters Sophia and Sistine at his Unwaxed Podcast.
“I grew up in a very bad home, it was tough,” he told them.
The girls were interviewing their father about the new release of his Netflix documentary “SLY” when he opened up about some details of his life that weren’t even shared in the film. He said he hadn’t shared them because he thought people would question his motives.
“My mother would say, ‘The only reason you’re here is because the coat hanger didn’t work,’ or ‘Bouncing down those stairs didn’t make you lost,'” she recalled, pointing out some common abortion methods at that point in history.
He said she even told him that she would have let him die as a baby if she had seen any problems with his cognitive abilities.
“And she said, ‘You know, the truth is, Sylvester… you know, if there was really something wrong with your brain, I would definitely have opened the window and put you on the sill and let you freeze because I would be doing you a favor.'”
When his daughters expressed shock at the terrible things their mother said to them, he tried to be understanding by explaining that she had grown up in a terribly abusive environment.
“My mother was… she was a troubled person. She was put in an orphanage, you know, a very cruel orphanage because her father had remarried and the new stepmother hated her,” she explained. “And I think my mother was a little rebellious, too. So she was put in an orphanage that… it’s not like the ones that are there today. It was, you know, they tied you to the bed and they spanked you and they abused her terribly. And I think her ability to show love was cut short. She literally couldn’t stand to be touched or touched at all. I mean, not even a hug.”
He also explained that he spent the first four or five years of his life in foster care, feeling disconnected and unloved.
CONTENT WARNING: This video contains strong language.
The now famous writer, director and actor eventually overcame that tough upbringing, taking Jesus as an example of an overcomer.
He says some elements of his Oscar-winning film Rocky are autobiographical and arise from his own painful struggles and frustrations, but he also points to the hand of God. In an interview with CBN founder Pat Robertson nearly two decades ago, Stallone credited God with giving him the burst of creativity that led him to write the Rocky script in just three days.
“The Rocky character was built on the idea that he was chosen to do something. That’s why the first image of Rocky is that of Christ,” he said, noting that his goal with the first Rocky film was to tell a story of God’s redemption.
“This is a story of faith, integrity and victory. Jesus is the inspiration for anyone to go all the way,” Stallone said.
He also told CBN that after gaining success and fame in Hollywood, his ego, deep soul wounds and worldly temptations took control of his life and he spiraled out of control. But God would always bring him back and give him another chance.
“I really decided to take things into my own hands and put them in God’s hands because I always felt like I was chosen to do something,” he said.
WATCH: From the CBN Archive – Sylvester Stallone Talks About His Faith
