When Katie Holmes Said She Protects Suri As Sexual Assault is an 'Understood Secret Amongst All Women'

Katie Holmes once described her inner instinct to 'protect' her daughter Suri. Last year, in an exclusive interview with Glamour, as touched upon several issues that are close to her heart including women's safety. Promoting her film, Rare Objects that she directed, Holmes mentioned a graphic scene of sexual violence that went unnoticed leaving an indelible impression on the viewers. 

"What was most important to me was what it did to [Benita] in the aftermath. To me, unfortunately, [sexual assault] is an understood secret amongst women, so we don’t have to share too much to know what we’re talking about. And I also felt like that," Holmes said when asked about the scene and how everyone mentally prepared for it. Praising actor Julia Mayorga, she said, "Julia was so incredible in that scene, and that was really a difficult one to shoot because I just needed her face. I kept telling both of the actors, 'It’s your faces.' And so they had to really go there. Everybody was pretty shaken up after." The movie is based on a novel by Kathleen Tessaro. 

During the discussion, Holmes also mentioned her teen daughter and her maternal instinct to "protect her" for being "so visible at a young age," as reported by Daily Mail. Recently, Suri dropped her father, Tom Cruise's surname. She celebrated her diploma with her mom, with Cruise missing the graduation ceremony. According to Page Six, the graduation ceremony pamphlet listed her as 'Suri Noelle'. When Holmes and Cruise separated, the Mission Impossible actor was ordered to pay $400,000 a year until Suri turned 18. 

The mother-daughter duo have always shared a strong bond. ​​"I didn't know how much love I had in me. It's overwhelming. Every day I discover more about this spectacular human being I get to be the mother of," Holmes told People in 2014. According to the outlet, she also shared, "The most important thing for me is letting her know how proud I am and that her accomplishments mean everything. Whatever I do is...really just about her and that's what I think is most important." The mum added, "Motherhood means everything to me. I'm learning every day, and I have been since the minute I became a mom."

Speaking about how she learned to be patient, she said, "Between tickle fights and glitter art, I try to throw in some manners along the way. I try to have good manners too, so that's what she sees. I also try to be very creative with her, because I know she's an artist, and that speaks to the girl in me. To be honest? I'm not going to play tag, probably. That's not top of my list. But I'll paint all day, I'll do the creative stuff."