Angela Bassett has opened up about being fondled by her mother's boyfriend when she was just a child.

The actress recently hosted the Rape Foundation’s annual brunch where she took a moment to share her own experience with sexual molestation as a child.

During the event, the actress revealed that while she was asleep one night, her mother’s boyfriend came into her room at night and she felt him fondling her breasts.

This happened before she was even a teenager.

She said her supportive mother ended the relationship when she reported to her what had happened.

The 61-year-old, who is mother to teenage twins, Bronwyn and Slater Vance, said: "Fortunately, it wasn’t a complete assault, it was fondling, but it was devastating enough for a child who’s 12 or 13."

She added: "Thankfully, to have a mother who could tell as soon as light broke that this happened and for her to expel him [meant a lot]. That she heard me, believed me, and did something about it, I think was so empowering for me as a young teen, as a young woman."

The Black Panther actress said she and her husband now make sure to teach their sons about consent and respecting boundaries.

She said: "You just want them to be aware. They’ll be in situations one day, and when a girl says no, both to him and to her, she means no."