Jewel Says She Has Been Sexually Harassed Since She Was 8 Years Old

Country singer Jewel opened up about the disturbing sexual harassment she has faced since she was just a child in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

"I’ve had men hitting on me, sadly, since I was really young," she told THR. "At 8, I had men putting dimes in my hands saying, 'Call me. It’d be so great to f— when you’re older.' And just horrible stuff."

The 41-year-old, who grew up in Alaska, said sexual harassment led to her homelessness after she was fired from a San Diego coffee shop for refusing to have sex with her boss. Last year, she told Billboard "men were predatory" during this period of her life.

At 18 years old, she signed with Atlantic Records and used these harrowing experiences to arm herself.

"In the music business, it ended up serving me very well," she told THR. "I learned to keep my energy to myself, where there’s nothing about me that seemed approachable. And as men did approach me, I got very good at handling men in a way that sort of didn’t anger them. ... And at the same time using wit and usually humor to defuse the situation and to inform them, 'P.S. Not available that way.'"

Jewel's latest album, "Picking Up The Pieces," is out Friday. Her memoir, Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story, is on sale Sept. 15.

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