ELIAS PHOENIX SPEAKS OUT: FROM CHILD PIANO PRODIGY ON ELLEN TO ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE AT HOME

Elias Phoenix was once known as the cheerful young piano prodigy who captured America’s attention on television. Now, at 20, he is speaking publicly about what he says was a deeply painful childhood marked by years of emotional and physical abuse.

At just 7 years old, Elias Phoenix had already performed at Carnegie Hall and appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where his energetic personality, musical talent and trademark top hat made him a memorable young television guest.

But behind the smiles and performances, Phoenix says his childhood was far more difficult than viewers could have imagined.

In an extensive interview with PEOPLE published Sept. 25, Phoenix described what he alleges were years of emotional and physical abuse involving his late mother and his twin brother, Zion.

His allegations have not been independently verified in full. PEOPLE reported that it contacted Zion Phoenix for comment, but he had not responded to multiple requests.

FROM CARNEGIE HALL TO TELEVISION FAME

Phoenix’s rise to fame began when he was still a child.

In 2013, he performed at Carnegie Hall after competing in the American Protégé International Music Talent Competition. He later appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2014, where his cheerful personality and piano performance quickly attracted attention.

At the time, Phoenix says he genuinely enjoyed being on television.

“When I went out there, no one told me to act excited and overjoyed,” he told PEOPLE. “I just naturally did.”

He also remembered meeting Ellen DeGeneres as a particularly positive experience, describing her as one of the kindest celebrities he had met.

The young musician later appeared alongside his twin brother Zion. The brothers also auditioned together for America’s Got Talent in 2016, receiving four yes votes from the judges before eventually leaving the competition.

For audiences, Elias appeared to be a happy and confident young performer.

He says his life away from the cameras was very different.

“I’M FINALLY ELIAS PHOENIX”

Earlier in September, Phoenix began sharing details about his childhood on social media.

He posted videos that he said were recorded in 2017 while he was preparing an audition for the Juilliard School.

In the footage, his mother can be heard shouting at him and using profanity while he was practicing, according to PEOPLE’s report.

Phoenix said the videos brought back memories of experiences he had largely blocked out.

He also alleged that his mother and brother repeatedly criticized his appearance and called him fat, which he says contributed to anorexia and long-lasting struggles with self-esteem.

In one social-media post, Phoenix wrote that he believed it was “a miracle” that he was still alive after what he described as years of mistreatment.

He also alleged that his brother once locked him outside the family home and that his mother blamed him for her illness.

These statements are Phoenix’s allegations about his childhood.

PRESSURE BEHIND THE MUSIC

Phoenix says the pressure surrounding his musical career became an important part of his childhood.

Although performing gave him an opportunity to express himself, he says he also felt he constantly had to meet expectations.

Looking back at the videos from his Juilliard audition, he says he was struck by how frightened the younger version of himself appeared.

“The performances were amazing,” he told PEOPLE, describing them as almost an escape from what he experienced at home.

After years of being associated with the image of the cheerful piano prodigy, Phoenix says he eventually became afraid of music itself.

He described a fear of playing and creating music because of the pressure he associated with his childhood.

HIS MOTHER DIED IN 2020

Phoenix’s mother died of cancer in 2020, when he was still a teenager.

He says her death changed the way he understood his childhood.

For the first time, he felt able to process emotions and memories that he says he had previously pushed away.

“It freed me,” Phoenix told PEOPLE. “I was finally able to process everything that happened.”

He says the experience of revisiting his childhood has been painful but has also helped him understand himself.

A COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS BROTHER

Phoenix’s relationship with his twin brother has also remained complicated.

According to PEOPLE, the brothers were separated for several years before reconnecting through email in 2023.

They reunited in person in 2025.

Phoenix says that reunion ultimately became extremely difficult for him. He told PEOPLE that he later spent three days in a psychiatric hospital while attempting to process what he says happened during their relationship.

He now says he does not want further contact with his brother.

Zion Phoenix has not publicly responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment, according to the magazine.

“THIS ALMOST FEELS LIKE IT WAS A DIFFERENT LIFE”

When Elias recently rediscovered some of the old videos, he says he was surprised by his own reaction.

He says he did not remember many of the specific incidents shown in the recordings.

But hearing his mother’s voice again brought back the fear he says he experienced as a child.

“This almost feels like it was a different life,” he told PEOPLE.

The experience ultimately encouraged him to tell his story publicly.

Phoenix says he hopes that speaking openly about his childhood will help others recognize that abusive behavior should not be accepted simply because it comes from a family member.

“Sometimes, biological family isn’t your real family,” he said.

FINDING A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP WITH MUSIC

Despite everything he says he experienced, Phoenix has not completely abandoned music.

Instead, he says he is trying to make music on his own terms.

In August, he uploaded a new song to YouTube — his first upload to the platform in six years.

He has also described making beats privately, without feeling that someone else is directing what he should create.

That relationship with music appears very different from the one he had as a child performer.

Once, music was something that placed him in the spotlight.

Now, Phoenix says it can also be something he controls for himself.

A NEW CHAPTER

For years, the public image of Elias Phoenix was that of a smiling child pianist who captivated television audiences.

Today, he says there is much more to his story.

He is now attempting to separate the child the public saw on television from the experiences he says happened away from the cameras.

“My public self has always been the child piano prodigy on TV shows,” Phoenix told PEOPLE.

But he says the support he has received since speaking publicly has helped him feel accepted as the person he is today.

“I’m finally Elias Phoenix,” he said. “And I will always continue to be Elias Phoenix.”

His allegations about his childhood have generated significant attention online. However, the accounts remain his personal allegations, and his brother has not responded publicly to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

For Phoenix, telling the story appears to be less about returning to the spotlight than reclaiming a part of his life that he says was hidden behind it.