'AGT's' Jackie Evancho says as a child star 'there were men who wanted to hurt me'

The "America's Got Talent" star posted about the dark side of freedom Wednesday on her official Facebook page.

Evancho wrote that "entering adulthood as a 18 year old moving to New York, I felt the need to put this out into the universe as a way of continuing the healing process I'm on. I no longer have the fear to stay silent."

"A lot of people hear "10 year old singer" and immediately feel bad for me," she wrote. "There is a lot of stigma around being a child entertainer mainly because of the past experiences that have been thrust into the spot light by paparazzi and tabloids."

The classical singer first found fame in 2010 as the young runner-up on season 5 of the NBC competition series "America's Got Talent."

She recently returned to compete on "America's Got Talent: The Champions" and wrote on Facebook "there are a lot of aspects that aren't so glamorous about being a child in the music industry but there's a lot that I'm thankful for and would never change."

"I am glad that I am a performer and that that's how I make my living, but growing up that way wasn't easy," Evancho said. "My parents were smart about every decision they had made for me."

Evancho was criticized in 2017 for agreeing to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration festivities.

The young performer said she grappled with giving up parts of what would be a normal childhood and to this day says she feels "awkward and shy" around people her age.

She also wrote of her mother's chronic illness which left Evancho dealing with "cabin fever" in hotel rooms while her mother rested.

But with all her success, there was also a dark part to her fame, Evancho wrote.

"Throughout my childhood I was also facing another reality - that there were men out there who wanted to hurt me," she said. "Some even went to the extreme of claiming they were priests and other disarming occupations to gain trust and easy access backstage, but clearly their intentions weren't so pure."

Evancho also said her family had the additional worry of potential stalkers "and other dangers of being in the spotlight that my family and I had to deal with."

These days she's an 18-year-old living in New York City and Evancho said that she is enjoying her new environment and freedom.

"My love for music is profound - it's what drives me and transforms me," she wrote. "I've learned and been through so much, but this is my journey and I look forward to a bright future for the next phase of my life."

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