Watch Live: Obama’s Counterterrorism Speech

Watch Today’s BlazeCast With Your Questions, Comments & Live Chat!

Media

Lara Logan Now Covers Dangerous Stories With ‘Valium and Red Wine’

Jan. 13, 2013 6:22pm Erica Ritz

Lara Logan Opens Up About Tahrir Sq. Sexual Assault: Valium and Red Wine Enable More Dangerous Foreign Reporting

News correspondent Lara Logan of ’60 Minutes Sports’ speaks onstage during the Showtime portion of the 2013 Winter TCA Tour at Langham Hotel on January 12, 2013 in Pasadena, California. (Photo: Getty Images)

Those who followed the “Arab Spring” revolts in Egypt in early 2011 undoubtedly remember CBS correspondent Lara Logan and the horrifying gang rape she suffered in the middle of Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Nearly two years later, still working as a foreign correspondent with CBS, Logan has revealed how she tackled the trauma head-on after the attack, and how she now prepares herself before being sent on similarly dangerous assignments.

Deadline Hollywood caught up with Logan after a panel at the Television Critic’s Association convention Saturday:

When Deadline asked if the emotional trauma remained with her, she replied, “I think anything that happens to you on this scale stays with you forever.” Logan continued, “Am I traumatized? Do I have bad dreams? No. And after it happened, when I got back from Egypt, I was honestly almost elated because I was so close to death and coming to terms with being gone.”

The gravity of that event contrasted today with Logan’s vibrant, vivacious demeanor and striking appearance, which belied feelings that seem to reside just below the [surface.] “I was dying in that square,” she recalled, “and I never thought I would see my children again. After I got home, for weeks I couldn’t believe I was alive.”

That she was able to muster the character, strength and survival skills to get through such an unfathomable physical and psychological ordeal seems still to surprise Logan. “You don’t realize until it happens to you that you have a choice not to fall apart,” she said. “I said, I have too much to live for.” Logan’s strength led her to approve a statement shortly after the attack that detailed how she was beaten and sexually assaulted and didn’t try to sweep the details under the carpet. She credited CBS News and president Jeff Fager for having the courage at the time “to decide not to lie about this. We weren’t going to lie about this.” [Emphasis added]

In this Feb. 11, 2011 photo released by CBS, “60 Minutes” correspondent Lara Logan is shown leaving Cairo’s Tahrir Square the day Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down. (Photo: AP)

This isn’t the first time Logan has opened up about the attack, but the passage of time now allows her to discuss how she conquered the ordeal, rather than the trauma itself.

In a gut-wrenching CBS interview in May of 2011, Logan recalled how the mob — estimated at between 200 and 300 people– was “tearing” her body in “every direction” and beating her with flagpoles and sticks while raping her.

Shouting for help did nothing, she said, because her screams “turned them into a frenzy.”

Unbelievably, Logan still travels into dangerous, war-torn areas regularly. Deadline Hollywood has more on how Logan says she prepares:

“I honestly don’t think I could do it without Valium and red wine, I swear to God,” she admitted. “I just tank up the day before and I’m out the door. I couldn’t do it otherwise. I know it sounds weak. It’s the hardest thing, but I do it for reasons I truly believe in.”

The Star adds that Logan still worries about her family while traveling abroad, though.

“I wrote a book for them. I tell them why I went to certain places. If I don’t make it back I want them to understand,” she is quoted as saying.

–

Benghazi, IRS, AP...What's next? Only TheBlaze TV offers the truth from Glenn Beck, Andrew Wilkow, and Real News from TheBlaze. Get instant access and a free trial here.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (112)

Bruce1369
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:45pm
Hmmmmm. Going back for some more? Can’t rape the willing.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
The_Eye
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:53am
I’ve said it before but the animals who gangraped and beat her should and likely will spend and eternity in Hell for what they did. That is absolutely savage. However, her admission to needing to drink and do valium before doing her job indicates she still has some deep deep issues. Mixing painkillers and alcohol is a recipe for accidentally killing yourself. It is one of the biggest ways in which people accidentally die by their own hand. It’s not good. Fame is a powerful drug but she should think about her children.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
KBARRANCH
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 11:22pm
Gang Rape… Really??? No nightmares and you aren’t traumatized after a brutal Gang Rape…
Made up story…

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
KBARRANCH
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 11:18pm
Gang Rape? Really??? Lets not call it that and discount the term for something later described as beaten and sexually assaulted…

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
fightsocialismnow
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 9:20pm
Out of all the liberal-type reporters, in one would consider her liberal. I dont mind her. Generally, i have found her to be rather concise in her reporting ever since I saw her and Greta Van Susteren amongst others reporting in Iraq, when I was serving. As for her horrible rape, she went into the den of hyenas that were supposedly “peaceful, democratic” protestesters. As far as her going back, it’s a personal decision. If I had kids I would definitely be careful. And as for mixing alcohol and painkillers I would give her a stern warning because I had a friend who came very close to overdosing, on a really nasty cocktail.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Jack Zedee
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 6:26pm
how long would anyone else last if they admitted they needed valium and red wine before they can do their job ?? this person rates nothing , i felt sorry for her before then she came out apologetic for those who assaulted her as the MSM demanded , and thats why i think she needs the drugs and booze , how could you work for folks who allowed that to happen then demand you praise your attackers?? that would screw anyone head.. but again how many other jobs would allow you to get tanked before you started ?? only the MSM IF your touting their BS agenda

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
1911a1
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 3:34pm
I feel sorry for her . She should consider , is it worth the money or satifaction of being a reporter if she has to do this just to do her job ? Why go through that or even put oneself in the position to have that happen again? fOR A NEWS AGENCY ? and a paycheck? ,,,,, No thanks !

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
DisgustedinUSA
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 3:14pm
I seriously dont get how that woman, after all she endured, steps back into it again and again. Instead of walking away and doing some other worthy cause, she jeopardizes her life daily, not only by going into dangerous zones, but also by chugging wine and drugs. Dont tell me she’s not messed up after all of that. That in itself tells you somethings NOT right in her head. She was traumatized, she needs to step away and find some peace.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
hades3
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 2:46pm
Does her action and chose of assignments make her a soldier in the war on women ? Or is she just a fool on the battlefield ?Valium and red wine can make anyone feel invincible. Throw in a little pot, and everything is love and peace !

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
justavoter
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 2:27pm
Don’t forget hat every word that comes out of this woman’s mouth has to be approved by the Whitehouse.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
garybkatz
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 2:23pm
Independent4233, are you friggin’ kidding me? She suffered “some” trauma? She had her clothes ripped off, every orifice penetrated, was beaten and nearly drawn and quartered by a frenzied mob of so-called men. You seem to feel this is not such a big deal. I wonder if you’d feel the same way if it (G-d forbid) happened to your mother, wife, sister or daughter.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
J3player
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 1:47pm
Apparently, her job is her God.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
dixie63
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 1:38pm
I am a woman, but I don’t think she should be out doing these dangerous jobs, because she is a mother. Her children should come before anything else.
Feminism has ruined the family, and I believe that was their plan all along.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
fgarvin
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 1:24pm
Didn’t cry for her before, won’t in the future. I guess for her to make a name for herself, she has to keep victim status going. They should take her kids away and give them to someone more responsible.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
tothepoint
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 12:55pm
Were her Muslim attackers ever caught and made to pay for the terrible violence against this American?
Has anyone in the Muslim world apologized for their violent misogynist behaviors against this American?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
AmericanBelle
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 12:00pm
Shame on you all! Lara never said she goes to work drunk! She takes the pill and a drink to get the courage to leave the house to go into another battle zone! She gets on the plane, like hundreds of people, a little groggy and by the time she lands, 8-10 hours or more later, she’s ready to go to work. It’s a little help to get her into the zone. Not to be confused with union workers who go out on breaks and lunch with their joints and beer-in-a-bag!

This is a woman who has chosen to work AND have a family! A leaving messages as to why she does it and what pushes her would be absolutely valuable to those kids if she didn’t make it home. They know who their mommy is and what she does and depending on their ages, have an inkling that she might not come home. Hell, cops, firefighters, military personnel do this everyday not knowing if they’ll make it to quitting time!

Reading these posts a lot of you are immature and too quick to rush to judgment without knowing all the facts.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Comcast3
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 11:45am
I hope, there was a lesson learned; never been in an area where unevolved mooslim men congregate. She was lucky to survive; the Indian girl from the bus attack, was not so lucky.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
TheTruthTruthTruth
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 10:51am
will she submit to Islam?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
tommytruck
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 9:53am
She’s tanked in that photo.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
FANGS
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 9:19am
And the biggest point. No-one on the Democrats side did anything for her. No protests. No womens rights . No statement from obama. Well, this is what you voted for. But it’s going to get alot worse. Perhaph even legal wife beatings or stonings.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
The912Project
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 9:09am
Just so we’re clear, this job is more important than your children? Got it.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
TwinKlesDoWn
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:52am
“She credited CBS News and president Jeff Fager for having the courage at the time ‘to decide not to lie about this. We weren’t going to lie about this.’”

The courage not to lie?
We weren’t going to lie about this? ( This??? So, what do “we” lie about? Appears to be much since telling the truth is an act of courage.)

How noble.

What is courageous is willfully putting oneself in harm’s way in order to get the truth out to people so they are not deceived. There is nothing courageous in getting PR optics to market an agenda. To say telling the truth about something horrific that happened during the Arab spring is courageous, sounds as though it is contrary to “the agenda,” a narrative/ script that was already in place. Were we only to see shiny happy faces? Why courageous? Who wouldn’t want the truth? Was the big guy bucking the system? We’ve all seen horror in the media … if it bleeds it leads. She stands in a mob of turmoil and revolutions and claims telling the truth is an act of courage. If your standing amongst a mob with the story already written that’s hardly journalism and incredibly astounding. One might as well be a spokesmodel. ANYWAY, This poor woman has gone through hell, and she is obviously not emotionally ready to return to the field if she is taking wine and pills together. I hope she seeks therapy for her children’s sake because popping pills with alcohol only escalates as her emotional state deteriorates Keep pushing for truth un

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.