Elijah Wood Says Hollywood Is Rife With Child Sex Abuse

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Lord of the Rings star and former child actor Elijah Wood spoke out against child sex abuse in Hollywood, suggesting that it's far more common than people realize. Wood, now 35, began his screen career at age 8. Wood compared the current situation in Hollywood to England's Jimmy Savile pedophilia scandal, referencing the British entertainer who allegedly abused hundreds during his career. “You all grew up with Savile—Jesus, it must have been devastating,” he said.

“There are a lot of vipers in this industry, people who only have their own interests in mind. There is a darkness in the underbelly—if you can imagine it, it’s probably happened," Wood told the Times, adding that abuse often continues because victims “can’t speak as loudly as people in power.”

“That’s the tragedy of attempting to reveal what is happening to innocent people. They can be squashed, but their lives have been irreparably damaged," he said.

Wood credited his mother with keeping him safe from predators, telling the British paper that she was "far more concerned with raising me to be a good human than facilitating my career."

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