Chanel Miller Reveals Why She's Not Letting Hollywood Tell Her Story Right Now
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Chanel Miller’s story has been told over and over again in the press because her 2015 Stanford sexual assault case was headline news. (You might remember her Emily Doe impact statement.) Just the mere mention of the convicted criminal’s name elicits intense emotions in many people for how the ridiculously light sentence was handed down by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky. However, the only tale that matters now and in the future is Miller’s journey.
Miller told her story in 2019 with her book, Know My Name: A Memoir, and that got us thinking about Hollywood wanting to tell her tale. SheKnows caught up with her at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation events in Los Angeles on Monday where we asked if she’s been approached to adapt her memoir into a scripted series or docuseries. Miller gave us the most empowering answer that listening to your intuition. “There were a lot of meetings, and I’ve learned to tune into my body now,” she explains. “I realize the body is always giving us information, which I totally rejected for so long. And basically, after the meetings, I didn’t feel so good.”
The activist surprised herself in that meeting, perhaps expecting a different personal reaction to the entertainment industry wanting to share her story. “I could feel something pressing on the brakes, and I wasn’t feeling the tingly excitement that you might hope,” she says. “So, I thought, ‘Maybe I’m not ready for this step yet, for the visual depiction. Maybe I will one day, but I know that time is not now.’ And so that’s okay.”
Knowing that “something wasn’t aligned” is an important part of Miller’s healing in moving forward. “It’s like a control thing, too, right? I think that’s what it was — you don’t have full control,” she adds. Being able to have her story told in the right way is “of utmost importance,” and there’s another element Miller would love to add, humor. “I would earnestly want there to be humor, and to have all of the emotions, not just the heavy ones,” she continues. “Yeah, it doesn’t always have to be the heavy part, too.”
Miller’s activism in the years since the trial can best be described by outsiders as “strong” and “warrior-like,” but she sees a different side to herself — one that is led by “sunshine” and an inner “softness” that exudes strength. It’s no wonder Miller wants Hollywood to get her story right because it’s her “lightness” that defines her, not the story that thrust her into the public eye.
Before you go, click to see must-read memoirs about real women.