‘Little People, Big World’: Jacob Roloff Embraces ‘Freedom and Strength of Mind’ After Revealing Molestation Allegations

Little People, Big World star Jacob Roloff has made a triumphant new Instagram post after going public with his story of suffering childhood sexual abuse. Roloff claimed on Instagram this week that he was molested by Chris Cardamone, an executive producer on his family’s reality show. Days later, he made another post about “freedom and strength of mind.”

Roloff’s new post featured a picture of him walking through the forest with a smile on his face, his hands coming up in front of him as fists. He captioned the post in Spanish, but a rough translation reads: “Freedom and strength of mind — ‘Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel so free to bask in whatever sunlight they have left?’” A version of the quote has been widely applied to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, former first lady and wife of President John F. Kennedy. Roloff himself posted the same quote in English last weekend.

Fans filled the comments of Roloff’s post with praise. Many congratulated him on coming forward to tell his story and applauded his strength in doing so, while others shared their condolences for the tragedy they just now realized he had suffered. Roloff wrote that he was “a child” when the alleged sexual assault took place, and that it followed “a long grooming process.”

Beyond that, Roloff said: “I do not expect to provide details of this encounter at any point publicly. I do hope he is never allowed around children again.” His lengthy statement focused more on how the attack impacted him, and why he waited to long to come forward about it. He related it to the world of reality TV in general, in many ways.

“By revealing this, I may be more fully understood and my perspective on issues such as child sexual abuse, child exploitation, and the collateral costs of reality television may be received more clearly,” he wrote. “Although, I would have to add that this experience has not solely defined my point of view on any of these issues, nor has it defined my worldview in general.”

Roloff wrote that “the voyeurism involved in the entire enterprise of reality television” impacted his decision to withhold this story for so long, and asked whether reality TV needed to exist at all. “The profits were indeed sweet. The actual experience was more complicated,” he wrote.

Roloff did reserve a paragraph to write: “It must finally be emphasized that all fault lies with the predator, and no fault lies with any of my family members.” The post drew fresh attention to the Roloff family, and to Jacob in particular over the last few days.