In an interview with The Associated Press, Sam Lazarevic said Monroe was furious and defended her second husband, recalling that she was “completely surprised” by the reaction. He recalled asking her, “She's your daughter. Aren't you defending your daughter?”

In an article published last Sunday in the Canadian newspaper “Toronto Star”, Alice Munro's daughter denounced her being sexually assaulted by her stepfather when she was a child, and her mother staying with him, even after she learned of the crimes committed by her husband.

The long-awaited secret was revealed by Andrea Robin Skinner, Alice Munro's daughter, two months after the writer's death.

According to Andrea Robin Skinner, her stepfather, geographer Gerald Fremlin, began sexually abusing her in 1976, when she was 9 years old and he was 52.

At the age of 80, Fremlin pleaded guilty to indecent exposure and was given a suspended sentence.

The Toronto Star news surprised and saddened the literary world. As a result, Western University announced Friday that it was suspending its Alice Munro Professorship. “At this time, we are suspending (…) while we carefully consider Munro’s legacy and connections to the West,” read a brief statement posted on the university’s website.

Alice Munro was a source of pride in her native Canada, where the author's legacy is being analyzed. “This clearly tarnishes his legacy,” said Detective Lazarewicz.