NEWSSylvester Stallone 'Yelled for Help' as a Naked Inmate 'Clawed' at His Private Parts in a 'Solitary Confinement Detention Hall' at Age 17
Sylvester Stallone got candid in his new memoir, 'The Steps,' about his troubled teenage years.
Sept. 29 2026, Published 1:49 p.m. ET
Sylvester Stallone shared a distressing childhood experience that occurred when he was 17 years old in his new memoir, The Steps.
The Rocky icon, 80, recalled being sent to the "Snake Pit" — his high school's punishment block back in the day whenever he would get into trouble.
Sylvester Stallone Was Sent to His School's 'Snake Pit' as a Teen
Sylvester Stallone revealed he was assaulted by a fellow Snake Pit detainee.
Stallone, who attended Pennsylvania's Devereux Manor High School as a teen, wrote the Snake Pit was “basically a mental hospital doing double duty as a solitary confinement detention hall."
While being confined to the harrowing prison-like block, the Rambo actor saw young men sitting in their own excrements, with some even having lobotomy scars.
But there was one instance that affected Stallone the most while staying in the facility. He revealed in his memoir he was assaulted by a burly, naked inmate nicknamed Jay Bird.
Sylvester Stallone Called His Younger Years 'Traumatic'
Sylvester Stallone recalled the individual grabbing at his private parts.
"He clawed at my p---- like he wanted to rip it off," he penned. "I yelled for help as loud as I could, as he dug his nails into my crotch, ripping at it, trying to tear off my pants."
Ahead of his memoir release on Tuesday, September 29, he opened up to Page Six about living through his painful life experiences and getting them down on paper.
Looking back on his school years was "kind of traumatic," Stallone said, adding: "I think we bury a lot of memories for survival."
“It becomes scar tissue, then covered over by the dust, and then you blow the dust out, and you go, ‘Oh God, that was sad,'" he continued.
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'I think we bury a lot of memories for survival,' Sylvester Stallone said.
“As an adult you go, ‘Why was it so difficult to be loved? Why was it so difficult to make friends,'" the Oscar-nominated filmmaker admitted.
“It’s emotional. I literally welled up a lot of times," Stallone continued, also noting the memories that are the most agonizing for him are those that have to do with his parents.
“It always got down to parents,” he confessed. “There are no good memories."
Sylvester Stallone Shared in His New Memoir His Experiences Creating His 1976 Film 'Rocky'
Sylvester Stallone's new memoir was released on September 29.
The Steps chronicles Stallone's rise as one of Hollywood's most beloved action stars, as well as his long road to crafting his 1976 boxing drama Rocky.
He described the struggle of writing the screenplay, noting: "I knew that I needed to find something special, but also something that most people could relate to. I just had no idea where to start."
Stallone explained he wanted to write the character of Rocky Balboa as someone "most people could relate to."
