Jerry O'Connell Apologizes To Wil Wheaton For Not Recognizing His Childhood Abuse During 'Stand By Me' Filming

Jerry O’Connell and Wil Wheaton had a heart to heart on The Talk this week, as the two reminisced on their days on Stand By Me.

During Wil‘s appearance on the program on Thursday (April 13), Jerry had apologized to his longtime friend following the revelation that Wil had been suffering from childhood abuse while they were filming the movie in 1986.

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“I heard before you talk about some of the struggles you were going through during Stand by Me, and you know, while I was 11 at the time, that’s an excuse; I do want to apologize for not being there more for you when you were younger,” Jerry told Wil on the show.

He added, “I want to say, to the bigger picture, you never know what someone is going through when you’re with them. I don’t feel guilt, but I just want to say I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you more.”

Wil was appreciative of Jerry‘s words, but reiterated that he was just 11.

“How could you have possibly known? Also, everyone in the audience who is a trauma survivor knows this: We’re real, real, real good at covering up what we’re going through,” Wil said.

Wil opened up about the abuse he went through during that time last year, revealing he was pushed into acting by his mother.

“And then through a combination of an incredible emotional abuse from my father and a lot of manipulation, using me, from my mother, like really put me in that place,” he had told Yahoo in an interview.. “Which, as it turns out, put me in the exact place to play Gordie.”