Ep. 73: The Incomparable Tina Turner Spoke Out About Abuse When All People Wanted to Know Was "Where's Ike?"

It was 1976 when Tina Turner fled for her life, literally, across multiple lanes of highway traffic to a Ramada Inn with $0.36 in her pocket and restarted her life. Despite being one of the most famous performance artists of her time, everyone associated her with Ike Turner, her abusive counterpart and husband. It wasn't until she spoke out publically in a 1981 People Magazine article titled, "Tina Turner: On the Prowl Without Ike" — because of course it was — that her fans would hear the truth. She wasn't half of an idyllic Hollywood couple. She was a survivor who'd had enough.  If you're a survivor of domestic violence, it's never your fault. Please consider visiting domesticshelters.org for a multitude of resources (many of which were written by Toxic co-host Amanda Kippert) or visit the Get Help page to find a shelter near you, staffed with advocates ready and willing to listen and help. For more information on Toxic, to pick up some sweet angry feminist merch, or to submit a story idea for an upcoming episode, visit ToxicthePodcast.com.  As always, we would be so appreciative if you rated or reviewed us on this platform, or shared us with a friend, so that we might be able to reach more people. Domestic violence needs to be talked about to lessen the arrogant power of abusers who think they can get away with anything. (We're looking at you, Ike Turner, even though you're dead.)