Posted in: Arrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, CW, TV | Tagged: arrow, batwoman, black lightning, bleeding cool, cable, crisis, cw, domestic violence, Instagram, ipb, Legends of Tomorrow, melissa benoist, streaming, supergirl, television, The Flash, tv

"Supergirl" Star Melissa Benoist Reveals Personal Story of Domestic Violence [VIDEO]

While fans of The CW's Arrowverse have been counting the days down until Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, Black Lightning, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow team-up for the multiverse-shattering crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths", Supergirl star Melissa Benoist has proven herself a to be a true "Woman of Steel".

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday with a post captioned "Life Isn't Always What It Seems", the actress bravely shared a very intimate story about her personal experience with domestic violence and intimate partner violence (IPV).

Over the course of the 14-minute video, Benoist recounts how the relationship spiraled from emotional manipulation to physical violence – revealing the incident that served as a turning point as well as the difficulties she faced getting herself clean from that toxic environment.

View this post on Instagram.

Benoist also posted the following follow-up message, urging those who are in crisis and need assistance to find a safe way out to contact the Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233); and for those looking to raise societal awareness about domestic violence and IPV to visit the website FuturesWithoutViolence.org

View this post on Instagram.

When she was 12 years old, Kara Zor-El escaped the doomed planet Krypton and was sent to Earth where she was protected and raised by her foster parents, Jeremiah (Dean Cain) and Eliza Danvers (Helen Slater) and her foster sister, Alex (Chyler Leigh). Under their supervision, Kara learned to conceal the phenomenal powers she shares with her famous cousin, Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), in order to keep her identity a secret.

Years later, Kara was living a "normal" life in National City, assisting media mogul and fierce taskmaster Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) and working with her famous friend, and now Editor-in-Chief of CatCo, James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks). When Alex's life was threatened in a plane crash, Kara took to the sky to rescue her. In the aftermath, Kara decided she could no longer sit on the sidelines and came out as Supergirl. She now balances her job as a reporter at CatCo Worldwide Media with her work at the Department of Extra-Normal Operations (DEO), a super-secret government agency, which is run by her sister Alex. Supergirl also gets help from her friends J'onn J'onzz aka The Martian Manhunter (David Harewood), Brainiac-5 (Jesse Rath), Nia Nal aka Dreamer (Nicole Maines) and Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath).

In season five, Supergirl faces threats, both new and ancient. National City becomes enthralled with addictive virtual reality technologies created by CatCo's charming-but-secretive new owner, Andrea Rojas (Julie Gonzalo), which enable people to bury their heads in the proverbial sand. As Kara uses the power of the press to try to expose this danger, she must contend with challenges put up by rival reporter William Dey (Staz Nair), renegade Martian Malefic J'onzz (Phil LaMarr), a shadowy organization called Leviathan, and the shocking return of Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) who, in addition to his plot for world domination, seeks to claim the soul of Supergirl's best friend — and his sister — Lena. With humanity choosing to lose itself in technology, can Supergirl save the world yet again?

Based on characters from DC created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, SUPERGIRL is from Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti ("Arrow," "The Flash," "Riverdale"), Sarah Schechter ("Arrow," "The Flash"), Robert Rovner ("Private Practice," "Dallas") and Jessica Queller ("Gilmore Girls," "Gossip Girl," "Felicity").

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