Lucy Hale didn't understand how sexual assault affects people until it happened to her.

The Pretty Little Liars star alluded to the fact she'd been a victim of assault in a note published to, and then quickly deleted from, her Instagram and Twitter accounts last Thursday (18Jan18).

"I never understood sexual assault until tonight. I always sympathised, but never felt the pain of it until right now. My dignity and pride was broken. I am completely at a loss of words," the post read.

Lucy was one of the attendees at a lunch in Hollywood on Monday to celebrate Minnie Mouse getting a star on the Walk of Fame, and opened up further to Us Weekly about why she decided to come forward with her story - albeit keeping the tale "somewhat vague".

"I think along with a lot of other people we’ve all had our experiences like that and until it’s happened to you, you kind of don’t really understand how it can affect you and everyone around you," she said. "I just feel very honoured to be around a lot of powerful women that are speaking up about it and I think that’s where the change starts is when people start talking because you never know who’s listening or whose life you can impact."

The 28-year-old is just one of the famous faces to come forward with a tale of sexual assault as part of the #MeToo movement, and is thrilled to see the impact the revelations are having on Hollywood and the world as a whole.

"You know, you see the change happening it’s really an exciting time even though it started from dark times for people, I think the pay off will be extraordinary," she mused.

In a separate interview with People, Lucy admitted she'd been stunned by the amount of people coming forward, but thinks it's "awesome".

"I feel grateful to have people that I look up to that are speaking up about things," she said. "Not just women - I think men have sometimes suffered the same way that women have. And as long as a conversation is going or a conversation has started, which it has, that’s the best thing you could ever ask for because that makes people feel not alone. I think if powerful people can make a difference by speaking up, which they are, that will trickle down hopefully."

LATEST NEWS