Jennifer Grey in Tears as She Shows Love to Dad — He’s Her ‘Hero’ despite ‘Disgust’ He Made Her Feel Years Ago

• “Dirty Dancing” star Jennifer Grey got emotional while introducing her father, Joel Grey, at the Tonys for the Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Years ago, she had been molested as a teenager and did not receive the support of her family when she told them.
• Despite the trauma and hurt, she continues to view her dad as her “hero” and still supports him.

On Sunday, June 11, the Tony Awards Pre-Show took place in New York City. The star-studded guest list of the dazzling event included iconic American actress Jennifer Grey, who was the presenter for the Lifetime Achievement Award category. The “Dirty Dancing” star’s father, renowned actor, singer, dancer, theatre director, and photographer, Joel Grey, was the recipient of the Award.

While presenting her introduction speech, Jennifer started to get emotional. As she went on to praise her father, and the introductory video reel started to play, in the midst of talking, viewers noticed that she began to choke up in an effort to try and hold back her tears.

As the clips from Joel’s latest productions ended, Jennifer ended her speech by idolizing her dad as her hero. As she welcomed him onto the stage, the audience gave a standing ovation:

“Your hero, my hero, Joel Grey.”

Joel was extremely grateful as he accepted his award and thanked his daughter, calling her his darling beauty. Apparently, this was not the first time Jennifer teared up at a ceremony where her father was being honored. Eight years prior to the 2023 Tony Awards, when her father won another Lifetime Award in 2015, the “Red Dawn” talent struggled to hold back tears as she spoke about her father’s illustrious career.

During the 2015 ceremony, Jennifer acknowledged her strong emotions while presenting the award to her father. Not wanting to make the moment any more dramatic, the Hollywood actress jokingly quipped:

“I didn’t expect to feel like that. I feel like Liza [Minnelli], all gaspy and stuff! Just give me a moment; sorry about that.”

Continuing to recollect herself as the audience cheered her on, Jennifer proceeded to finish her presentation. She ended her speech by boasting about what an inspiration Joel has been to her and so many others around the world:

“I’m so inspired by my dad. By the sheer breadth of his work, his love of life. As someone who has clung to his every move my entire life, his incredible career only pales in comparison to the accomplishment of how he lives his life, his gigantic heart. This world is just markedly better for him being here.”

Despite the glowing reviews that Jennifer gave her father at his Award ceremony wins, the actress’s relationship with her dad has seen some challenging times. Most notable was when she revealed in her tell-all memoir – “Out of the Corner” – that she had been sexually assaulted by the overseer of her grandparents’ apartment complex at 14.

On a visit to see her grandparents, Jennifer had been returning to their apartment after a childhood date with a boy named Steve, who was her crush at the time. After buzzing her grandparents to let her back in, to which there was no answer, she knocked on the door of the apartment’s superintendent, a man named Jorge, whom she had been introduced to as someone who was kind and trustworthy by word of her grandparents.

The man let her in and allowed her to use his phone to get a hold of her grandparents, who then answered and told her to come back home. As she turned back towards the door, she found Jorge blocking her path. In an attempt to be less alarming, he started to engage her in what she thought was an innocent and casual conversation, asking her about her orthodontic appointment.

What happened next was a tragic incident she had not seen coming. Jennifer recalled briefly closing her eyes and reopening them to find her arms pinned to her sides and Jorge inappropriately touching her from behind. After strategically freeing herself by hurling loud insults at him, calling him pathetic for what he attempted to do, he stopped, and she bolted back to her grandparents’ apartment, throwing up immediately afterward.

Though Jennifer may have had to endure suffering in silence after she experienced childhood trauma, she still remains her dad’s biggest cheerleader.

In the hopes of seeking support, protection, and solace from her dad, she rang him up to tell him what had happened. As told by Jennifer herself, the response was unexpectedly cold and dismissive:

“Nothing could have prepared me for [the] blatant, blank dismissal of what had happened to me. [My father said,] ‘Well, what did you expect? You were probably all juicy from your date.’ I was filled with shame [and] a healthy dose of disgust.”

To add insult to injury, when she confided in her grandparents about it, they, too vehemently, denied the occurrence from ever taking place, affirming that their precious Jorge was not capable of doing such a thing. Unfortunately, the tragic incident stayed with Jennifer for a while, and she admitted to experiencing a loss of innocence and thought it had been her fault.

In a 2018 interview with People magazine, Joel came out as gay at age 82, and the way in which his daughter found out was less than palatable, as the news was not at all broken gently. One day in the late 80s, Jennifer made her way to see her boyfriend at the time – Matthew Broderick. She had arrived at his house to discover he was not there when his mother rudely blurted out a remark about Joel’s sexuality.

Completely stunned by the assertion, Jennifer could not fathom what she had just been told, gutted by the lack of transparency between her father and her. Years later, while sitting down with People magazine, Jennifer disclosed that not only did she make peace with it but put forward her belief that her dad’s sexuality should be no one else’s business but his own.

However, the “Wind” talent divulged that experiencing that moment was pivotal for her in the sense that it changed her to a large degree. According to Jennifer:

“It was one of those days that changed me. In the sense that how could I not know everything there was to know about my dad? I was the closest to him of anyone in the world.”

Joel had revealed that he had hidden his true identity for years because of how he grew up. He disclosed that when he was younger, he would listen in on grown-up conversations between his parents and friends discussing the frightening things that would happen to men living as openly homosexual.

However, after he eventually came out, Jennifer was one of his biggest supporters. She reported being elated that her father had found the freedom to live his life authentically and accept himself for who he truly is.

Though Jennifer may have had to endure suffering in silence after she experienced childhood trauma, she still remains her dad’s biggest cheerleader. She continues to love her dad throughout the ups and downs of their relationship and remains inspired by his incredible career.