Stacey Dash reveals she was raped at gunpoint by an ex in front of her newborn baby in emotional interview that also details her struggles with drug abuse and how not aborting her son changed her life

Stacey Dash is opening up about being molested as a child, her struggle with drug abuse and her years spent as a victim of domestic violence in a new interview.

The Clueless star and author of the upcoming memoir There Goes My Social Life also speaks in the interview about the importance of her two children, son Austin and daughter Lola.

She reveals however that she became pregnant with Austin at a particularly dark time in her life, and was moments away from aborting her son before making the decision to keep the child.

Then, shortly after she gave birth to her son, Dash said that she was raped at gunpoint by an ex who been stalking the actress - all while her son was asleep just a few feet away.

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Long road: Stacey Dash (above in 2014) reveals in a new interview that she began abusing cocaine at the age of 16 and struggled with her addiction for years

Love: It was during this time she became pregnant with her son Austin, now 25, and almost had him aborted (Dash and Austin above earlier this year)

'When I got pregnant, I was doing a lot of drugs and I didn't want to live. I wanted to die. I was going to have an abortion. I was crying and I said to God, "Please tell me what to do,"' Dash said in an interview with People. 

'And God told me, "Keep your son." I ripped the IV out of my arm and I said, "I'm keeping my son."'

It was shortly after Austin's birth that Dash's abusive ex tracked her down and raped her inside her home as her son lay asleep.

'When we had been together, I was so straving for love that I held on. I got my a** beat for those moments of love,' said Dash.

'But when a child comes, a man holds a gun to your head and you think, "My son is in that crib right there. No you are not going to do this to my child."'

Dash said the next time the man came she had a gun to protect herself, and fired several shots to scare him off.

'A gun saved my life,' said Dash.

'That's why I won't let me Second Amendment right be taken away from me.'

Dash also said that Austin, now 25, and her daughter Lola, 12, will always be aware of everything she went though in her life, saying; 'I let them know that I survived. I'm not a victim. And there is nothing they can't overcome.'

The actress was forced to deal with unimaginable abuse at the age of four when she began being sexual abused by a boy, 16, who was a family acquaintance. 

Dash said that she later became addicted to cocaine after being offered a line for the first time when she was just 16, and that for the next few years it controlled her life.

Dash was still doing drugs in her early twenties when she entered into an abusive relationship woith a man who would hit her, but only in places that the bruises and cuts would never been seen.

'He would punch me in my body, my legs, my chest, anything that could be covered,' said Dash of the man, who she does not name. 

'But part of me felt like I deserved it because what I was coming from was no better. I didn't have an identity.'

She explained in the interview that part of the reason she has made statements in the past about there being no need for BET or Black History Month is because of the struggles she has been through in her life. 

'I'm saying we deserve more,' said Dash. 

'I just hope people understand that I'm not judging; I'm coming from experience.'

Controversy erupted earlier this year when Dash called Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee's plan to boycott the Oscars over a lack of diversity 'ludicrous,' and then took things a step further.

'We have to make up our minds,' Dash said during an appearance on Fox & Friends.

'Either we want to have segregation or integration. And if we don't want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET [Black Entertainment Television] and the BET Awards and the Image Awards where you're only awarded if you're black.'

She then added: 'If it were the other way around, we would be up in arms. It's a double standard.'

Dash did not stop there either, saying later in the interview when again asked if BET should be on air: 'No, I don't think so, no. Just like there shouldn't be a Black History Month. You know? We're Americans. Period. That's it.'

BET was quick to respond to Dash's comment in an Instagram post, writing; 'Soooooo @realstaceyldash, can we get our check back... or nah? #Remember #YouWereOnTheGame #AndWeDontMeanTheRapper.'

It included a photo of the actress appearing on its program The Game, where she had a guest role, along with the snide remark about her dating the rapper The Game.

Debra Lee, CEO of BET Networks, also said in a statement; 'Through our award shows and programming we have recognized incredible talent that simply does not get recognized elsewhere.

'African American contributions to American culture are countless and we cannot and should not wait for anyone to acknowledge them.'

New role: Dash has become an unlikely political pundit in recent years (above with Donald Trump earlier this year)

Star: Dash shot to fame thanks to her role in the classic 90s film Clueless (above)

Dash has been married three times and has a 12-year-old daughter Lola with second husband James Maby (above)

Dash, 49, had previously discussed eliminating Black History Month and BET in a post on her blog late last year.

She wrote at the time; 'I don’t need a special month or special channel. What’s sad is that these insidious things only keep us segregated and invoke false narratives.

Dash, who shot to fame with her role as Dionne in the film Clueless, is now a contributor to Fox News.

She voted for President Barack Obama in the 2008 election but then switched her party affiliation in 2012 to Republican, endorsing Mitt Romney in the election.

She is endorsing Donald Trump in the current election and posted a photo on her Instagram account with him last week. 

Dash was born in the Bronx and is part Bajan, African American and Mexican. She is the cousin of Roc-A-Fella Records founder and CEO Damon Dash. 

She has been married three times, first to Brian Lovell and then to James Maby, who is the father of her daughter Lola.

Maby went on to marry Landon Clement of Southern Charm fame after his 2006 divorce from Dash.

Dash's third marriage was to Emmanuel Xuereb, but she and the actor split in 2011 after four years.