Elvira actress Cassandra Peterson accuses Wilt Chamberlain of sexual assault in new memoir

For the first time, actress Cassandra Peterson is telling her story of sexual assault in her new memoir, "Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark."

The "Mistress of the Dark" actress revealed that while attending a party at NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain's house in the 1970s, he invited her to check out his custom-made closet. Peterson alleges that the invitation turned into a traumatizing experience and that Chamberlain forced her to give him oral sex.

"Why didn't I try to scream, fight back, or get away? When a seven-foot-one, 300-pound man has his hand wrapped around your neck, there's really not a lot you can do," she writes.

Peterson adds that the power imbalance between herself and Chamberlain kept her from sharing what happened at the time.

"Should I have reported him to the police?" she writes. "Are you kidding? What chance do you think a former showgirl/out-of-work actress would have against a sports superstar?"

When Chamberlain later claimed in his 1991 memoir "A View from Above" that he'd slept with 20,000 women, Peterson writes she "had to wonder how many of those women actually consented to having sex with him."

Peterson told People in an interview published Thursday she never told anyone that story aside from her ex-husband Mark Pierson before writing about it in her book.

"I almost had myself convinced that I was a very bad person for letting that happen. And then when the whole Me Too movement, I started thinking, 'Wait a minute. I didn't do anything wrong,'" she said. "You did something wrong. You did something very wrong."

Kristen Houser, chief public affairs officer of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, told USA TODAY in 2019 decreased stigma has been one of the #MeToo movement's biggest impacts.

"Things now just feel different," Houser said at the time. "Neighbors, family, friends, not just colleagues, are interested in this and they have the ability to ask more educated questions. They are slightly better informed."

More: It's been years since the #MeToo movement exploded. Now what?

Chamberlain, who was in the NBA for 14 years playing center for the Philadelphis 76ers, the San Fransisco Warriors (currently Golden State Warriors) and the Los Angeles Lakers, died at age 63 in 1999 after suffering from heart failure.

Peterson started her career as a Las Vegas showgirl turned late-night Halloween TV movie host. Her sexy vampire character as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, evolved into a Halloween staple which later spun into movies, popular Halloween costumes and endorsements.

"I've made a career off of Halloween," she told USA TODAY in 2012.

Peterson also reveals more private details from her life in "Yours Cruelly," including her current, 19-year-long relationship with another woman. She writes that she kept the relationship hidden to maintain Elvira's image, but says she has to be "truthful."

"I’m very aware that there will be some who will be disappointed and maybe even angry, but I have to live with myself," she writes. "For the first time in my life, I’m with someone who makes me feel safe, blessed, and truly loved."

Contributing: Charles Trepany, Alia E. Dastagir, Bruce Horovitz

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or visit hotline.rainn.org/online and receive confidential support.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Elvira' Cassandra Peterson accuses Wilt Chamberlain of sexual assault