From 1977 through 1984, Ike Turner often came up during Tina Turner interviews. People associated the two together and wanted to know what happened. Tina Turner’s initial answers were that she needed a change and she was on friendly terms with Ike. She stated that the breakup was painful, but didn’t want to go into details. She told one reporter that she didn’t want to say anything that would unsettle the divorce settlement process.
The feminist movement became a force at the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s, allowing women to be open about issues that greatly affected them, such as wife abuse (the term for domestic violence at that time). Books, such as Battered Wives by Del Martin, Your Marriage by Maxine Schnall, and Working on Wife Abuse by Betsy Warrior became recommended reading. Studies done during that decade estimated that 28% of married women in the United States of America encountered at least one extreme spousal violence incident, such as punching, kicking, hitting with an object or weapon, and choking. With abuse beginning to be seen as a widespread issue, domestic violence shelters, telephone hotlines, and legal referrals became available. People pushed for legislation and law enforcement measures that assisted domestic violence victims.
As time went on, Tina Turner gradually became more open about Ike Turner. In a 1978 interview, she declared a lack of communication and harmony resulted in the divorce. During another interview that year, she stated Ike and her kept up a front about their marriage being solid. Tuner said they had a hard marriage. She did all the giving because of Ike’s strong personality. By 1979, Tina Turner preached the influence of Buddhism in her life, saying it helped her leave Ike. During 1981, Tina Turner admitted that she and Ike aren’t friends. They only communicate via phone due to their kids. She stated that she needed to be away from Ike Turner because he suppressed and dominated her. As a result of her experience with Ike, she held the belief that show business partners shouldn’t marry, for there’s too much ego in celebrity relationships. Turner imagined that it’s much different than working with a boss you don’t like at the office. Office workers get to go home. Not so with a husband boss.
Domestic violence became a dominant issue in 1984. In early 1984, Tracey Thurman, the survivor of a kicking and stabbing attack by Charles Thurman, her husband, sued the Torrington, Connecticut police department for failing to protect her from her husband. Tracey Thurman had repeatedly sought police assistance before the severe 1983 attack left her partially paralyzed. An officer actually witnessed the 1983 stabbing and kicking assault, but did nothing until backup arrived. The made-for-TV movie The Burning Bed aired 8 October 1984. The movie, based on Francine Hughes’s murder of her abusive ex-husband Mickey Hughes, showed how the lack of support for domestic violence victims led one woman whose ex-husband wouldn’t leave her alone to take matters into her own hands. When Farrah Fawcett, the actor portraying Francine Hughes, initially pitched the movie to the three major television networks, none of them were interested, feeling that Americans didn’t want to spend two uncomfortable hours watching the violence Hughes endured. After Fawcett’s off-Broadway success with a play about rape titled Extremities, NBC decided to take the project. The movie’s airing coincided with Domestic Violence Awareness Week, receiving heavy promotion. Critics who saw the movie in advance praised it but warned people they may feel uneasy watching it. The warning didn’t turn people away. The movie had the fourth highest audience of TV movies. Some NBC network stations displayed telephone numbers for domestic violence victims to call. Domestic abuse shelters and organizations were inundated with calls for days after the movie aired. Many women realized that they weren’t alone and decided to seek assistance.
Around this time, Tina Turner opened up to Rolling Stone reporter Kurt Loder about her marriage to Ike Turner. The article explains how Ike Turner treated her as a slave.
Tina Turner shared with the world her suicide attempt and cited the reason was to escape from her abusive husband. The article concludes with Tina Turner claiming she is now happier than she has ever been. With the success of Private Dancer, Tina Turner proved that she didn’t need Ike Turner to succeed.
©2023 Tim Sheehan