Elias Phoenix, the former child piano prodigy who appeared on “Ellen” at 7, says he suffered years of emotional and physical abuse by his mother and twin brother. Now 20, he detailed the allegations and his healing in a PEOPLE interview; his mother died in 2020.
Phoenix recently posted on X videos that appear to show his mother shouting at him while he recorded a Juilliard audition. He also alleges his mother and brother repeatedly mocked his weight and that his mother physically assaulted him. He says he has struggled with suicidal thoughts for three years and still experiences lingering anorexia.
Phoenix says he reconnected with his twin, Zion, by email in 2023 and met him in person in 2025. After that visit, he spent three days in a psychiatric ward trying to process what he says his brother had done; Phoenix says he no longer wants contact. Zion has not responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
