Sylvester Stallone Reveals ‘Terrifying’ Attack at Psych Ward

Sylvester Stallone is opening up about one of the darkest episodes of his teenage years, claiming he was violently attacked while being held in a psychiatric facility connected to a school for troubled teens.

The 80-year-old “Rocky” and “Rambo” legend recounts the disturbing experience in his new memoir, “The Steps,” which is set to be released September 29.

Stallone also discussed the incident in a revealing interview with The New York Times, describing a childhood and adolescence marked by family turmoil, repeated trouble at school and what he says became a terrifying two-week stay inside a facility students called the “Snake Pit.”

Stallone said he attended Devereux Manor High School in Pennsylvania after struggling at numerous other schools.

According to Stallone, teenagers who broke certain rules could be sent to a building known as Park Lodge.

He remembered the Tudor-style building looking relatively ordinary from the outside.

Inside, he said, it was a completely different world.

Stallone described seeing residents in extremely distressed conditions and said some were restrained. He told the Times that the experience appeared designed to frighten students into obeying the rules.

He said he remained there for roughly two weeks.

Then came the encounter Stallone says he never forgot.

The actor claimed another resident, whom he identified by the nickname “Jay Bird,” confronted him while he was walking through a bathroom on the way to eat.

Stallone said the much larger man grabbed at his throat before reaching into his pants and grabbing his groin.

“They tried to rip my groin off,” Stallone told the Times while recounting the attack.

According to Stallone, two guards eventually rushed in and subdued the other resident.

The story is Stallone’s recollection of events that allegedly occurred more than six decades ago, and the details have not been independently verified.

Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, the organization connected to the school Stallone attended, was contacted by The New York Times about his account.

A spokesperson said the organization had not yet read Stallone’s book but respected his right to tell his story, took his account seriously and was sorry for any trauma he remembered experiencing.

Today, Devereux operates behavioral health, educational and residential programs serving children and adults with developmental, behavioral and psychiatric needs. Its current materials also state that the organization maintains a zero-tolerance policy for abuse.

For Stallone, however, the frightening episode became part of a much larger story about survival.

He recalled returning to school afterward and being asked by the principal whether he had learned his lesson.

Stallone said his takeaway was far more personal.

“You can’t break me,” he remembered telling the principal.

He told the Times that the experience contributed to a belief that followed him through his lean years in New York and eventually into Hollywood: people might hurt him emotionally, but they would not destroy his will.

That theme runs throughout “The Steps.”

According to the publisher’s description, the memoir traces Stallone’s difficult upbringing, struggles in school, years of poverty and rejection and the unlikely path that eventually led him to create “Rocky.” The book arrives nearly 50 years after the original film turned Stallone into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Stallone also speaks candidly about his parents.

He told the Times that his mother, Jackie Stallone, was rarely physically affectionate with him and described his father as volatile. Despite those painful memories, Stallone said there were isolated moments of tenderness that stayed with him for decades.

His revelations do not stop with childhood.

Stallone also discusses the extreme pressure he placed on his body as his movie career exploded.

While preparing for 1982’s “Rocky III,” the actor said his pursuit of a hyper-muscular physique became obsessive. He has spoken about using steroids and struggling with bulimia during that period as he tried to maintain the larger-than-life appearance audiences came to associate with Rocky Balboa and later John Rambo.

The disclosures offer a stark contrast to the seemingly invincible action hero Stallone portrayed on screen.

Behind the muscles, blockbuster movies and famous underdog story, Stallone now says much of the toughness audiences saw was shaped by years of fear, instability and an intense determination not to be broken.

“The Steps” is scheduled to be released September 29 by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins.