Two empty seats on his big Oscar night broke Sylvester Stallone. Now, he has one plea for all parents

To be able to celebrate your wins with the people who love and support you is a feeling that’s out of this world. Sylvester Stallone has had his share of success with “Rocky,” but what broke his heart was not having the joy of sharing that victory with his parents, as reported by CBS Mornings. The franchise has won three Academy Awards, and in 1977, when the charming young man was stoked to lift up the award, the empty seats on the Oscar night left him shattered. His parents didn’t show up as his guests, and that 49th Annual Academy Awards win suddenly felt hollow. This same feeling that has stayed with him for decades pushed him to share a plea for parents in his recent interview on the Unwaxed podcast. 

Speaking with his daughters, Sophia and Sistine Stallone, the actor revealed that “Rocky” was one of the “saddest” days of his life. After suffering an abusive childhood, Stallone found comfort in the world of films. It was around his 20s that he wrote Rocky, but at the same time, he was broke, struggling, and had moved to New York City. Fate turned around, and as the star said, a “miracle” made his film the winner at the Academy Awards. He was the man who made it happen; he must have been on cloud 9 and wanted to share that one-of-a-kind opportunity and joy with his loved ones.

“I invited my mother, and she goes, ‘You want me to go with you?’” he recalled. When he revealed he was up for an Oscar, one of the finest achievements, the only response he got was that he had to invite his mom’s hairdresser, or she would not go. “I don't have a seat for your hairdresser; it's you and me in the front row,” he remarked, but his mother refused. What was supposed to be the greatest night of his life ended up making him feel empty and abandoned. "You want people that you love that denied you, now you're here, you're at the Oscars, and they don't want to go," he remarked, choking up, with tears in his eyes. Even years later, the pain was evident. That's what led him to share an earnest plea with all parents.

 "You realize that, at that moment, you're never going to come to terms with this. And it's like, what more do you need? Really, what f—ing more do you need to do to say, 'I'm here,’” he added. This hard hit gave him a lesson of a lifetime, and he shared that aloud with fellow parents. “Parents should really wise up. Kids are the same as soft clay. They really are. You mold them, and you dent them, and you hurt them, or you drop them off the table, and they're not the same shape anymore," he noted. He asked parents to tread lightly because the pain they inflict leaves scars for a long, long time.

"I still walk around with it. And I wish I couldn't. And I pray, and I do everything, but it's always there,” he tearfully revealed. The inner child in him was still a little abandoned and broken, and he could only hope that no parent would put their child through the same. The video was shared by @offthecuff, and the internet knew that these wounds don’t heal easily. @daoudthepoet said, “Childhood trauma is real. Mad respect.” @buttaflyqueen added, “Love his transparency, that's true strength. We all battle with unresolved wounds.” 

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