With bullying being such an important issue among kids, tweens and teens today, we wondered what celebrities think about the subject – and, in some cases, how they themselves survived bullying. Here’s what some of the biggest stars in Hollywood had to say about bullying…
Justin Bieber
“There are so many bullies. It goes on so much. I think that you should … especially if you are a bystander, you definitely should help out because it could be you next. Everybody goes through bullying. Everybody has it, even me.”
Tyra Banks
“I spent the whole year working on this model show, which deals with outer beauty, but three of the prettiest girls left first. It’s about their personalities. Personality and who you are is so important. If you’re pretty but you’re ugly inside, you’re ugly outside, too.”
Perez Hilton
“A lot of people have called me a hypocrite and a bully myself. From now on, I really want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. I still want to be me and be sassy, without being vanilla – and also without being malicious and hurtful and nasty. I was 26 when I started blogging. I’m almost 33 now. Time to grow up. I can’t keep justifying my behavior. Change is coming – and I’m going to be the change I want to see. I am going to be doing things differently from now on.”
Victoria Beckham
“People would push me around, say they were going to beat me up after school, chase me. It was miserable, my whole schooling, miserable. I tried to be friends with people, but I didn't fit in. So I kept myself to myself.”
Demi Lovato
A source close to Demi Lovato reveals: “Like many other teenage girls, she struggled a lot to fit in and find acceptance. She’s very sensitive, very intuitive and that is part of what makes her a wonderful performer – very talented. It is double-edged sword. I think she felt that the hard time she had [in school], problems with kids who were incredibly vicious made her stronger. But none of us feels strong every day.”
And Demi herself has this to say: ”People say sticks and stones may break your bones, but names can never hurt you, but that's not true. Words can hurt. They hurt me. Things were said to me that I still haven't forgotten. I actually left school when I was 12 years old. I started homeschooling. It was too much for me dealing with the cattiness of the clickie girls and things like that. The best advice I can have is using what you love as motivation to go farther in life. The girls that bullied me didn’t do much and that is because they put all of their energy in negative things. When you put your energy in positive things, you succeed. Even if it doesn’t have to do with success, you just become a happier person and you’re stronger…that is all that matters.”
Nolan Gould
“About two or three years ago, in third or fourth grade, I was bullied for being short – which is funny because the kid who was bullying me, I’m now taller than. The best way to get revenge is just to wait it out, and something like that will happen. It takes a stronger person to keep their mouth shut than to throw a punch, because even if you have a thousand insults, it’s harder to keep your mouth shut, and that shows people that you truly are strong.”
Tom Cruise
“I had no really close friend, someone who understands you. I was always the new kid with the wrong shoes, the wrong accent. I didn't have the friend to share things with and confide in. So many times the big bully comes up, pushes me. Your heart's pounding, you sweat, and you feel like you're going to vomit. I'm not the biggest guy, I never liked hitting someone, but I know if I don't hit that guy hard he's going to pick on me all year. I go, 'You better fight.' I just laid it down. I don't like bullies. Let me tell you what happiness is...it's being able to confront and overcome problems. It's not running away but trying to see life in its full glory.”
Chris Martin
“I bumped into a guy who used to [bully me] at school. He was a bully who always said I wouldn't make anything of myself. I had great pleasure asking what he was up to now. He wasn't up to much. Then I turned around and said, 'This is my wife Gwyneth [Paltrow].' His face dropped and he looked really embarrassed. It was a proud moment. I'm not one to get my own back and look for revenge – but that was pretty sweet. I wasn't the happiest at school. I was quite geeky. I was a bit of a swot and just wanted to do music.”
Chad Michael Murray
“I had my two front teeth knocked out by a sixth grader in first grade. He picked me up and jacked me in the mouth. My house got egged, and all that stuff that happens to you when you're growing up with people who don't understand what's going on…I hated high school, to be honest. I enjoyed the educational part of it; my teachers allowed me to be creative. But I didn't have any friends, because I didn't fit in.. I thought past high school to what I wanted to do.”
Jessica Alba
“No one gave me a second look when I was growing up. I was the sort of girl who other kids wanted to avoid. I was this incredibly shy, awkward child with buck teeth and a thick Texan accent. I hardly ever spoke up, because I didn't want to draw any attention to myself. I definitely go for the shy, nerdy type of guy. I'm pretty wary of really good-looking guys and as an actress you work with so many gorgeous men you become completely immune. Deep down, it's probably because they were always the ones who ignored me when I was younger. I was bullied really badly at school. My dad had to walk me there so I didn't get attacked. I'd eat my lunch in the nurses' office so I didn't have to sit with the other girls. I'd get beaten up and picked on all the time. It was about being different and not fitting in. I tend to feel suspicious of people when they're friendly to me. When I was young, I always had to be on my guard.”
Neil Patrick Harris
“When you get older, you'll find that people are actually drawn to individuals with different points of view, who are proud of who they are and make interesting and unique and different choices for them [so] stand tall and be proud of who you are.”
Brittany Snow
“I was bullied in middle school and high school and went through my fair share of hard times thereafter. Also, one of my really good friends committed suicide when I was in high school. I understand and get when kids and teenagers feel like they're alone and it's not going to get better. My advice is that there is a support system out there, there are a lot of people who have been through what you're going through and are going through it now. You really need to speak up and know people love and support you, regardless.”
Chris Colfer
“[I thought of myself as] a walking punching bag. [I was] teased every day from elementary school to high school. It really taught me to be quick on my feet. Some of my witty comebacks are legendary.”
Michelle Trachtenberg
“This one girl threw me down a flight of stairs, fractured my ribs, punched and fractured my nose.”
Megan Fox
“I was bullied and it’s hard, you feel like high school’s never going to be over.”
Joe Jonas
“The fact that people result to bullying is horrible. If there's any way for us to stop it, you've got to start somewhere. It starts in yourself, it starts in your school, it starts in your community. Reach out to those people who are sitting in the cafeteria by themselves or they don't have many friends. You should sit with them, talk to them, get to know them because they're just like you. Everybody has insecurities, everybody has fears. In this world it’s so easy to hate it, but you should always remember you were chosen to be on this earth, that it’s something special for you.”
Taylor Swift
“Junior high was actually sort of hard because I got dumped by this group of popular girls. They didn't think I was cool or pretty enough, so they stopped talking to me. The kids at school [also] thought it was weird that I liked country [music]. They'd make fun of me. [But after I got a record deal] they showed up, wearing my T-shirts and asking me to sign their CDs. It was bittersweet, because it made me realize that they didn't remember being mean to me and that I needed to forget about it, too.”
Zac Efron
“Bullying is one thing I hate in human nature. I have a younger brother, Dylan. There have been a couple of times where I've been out with him and someone has said a couple of words to him that were not nice, and I've had words back. I wasn't necessarily the subject of bullying, but I've witnessed it a whole lot. I still do at times in life. It doesn't stop happening at school, it can happen with adults. Personally if I had to deal with it, it never got to a situation where it could be considered bullying because I would find some clever way around it. I tend to make a joke. I defer everything with laughter. Even when it's blatantly disrespectful, I would just laugh it off, to avoid all confrontation, and I still use that on a daily basis."”
Vanessa Hudgens
“Don't let bullies get to you, that's the best advice I can give you. Because once you start letting it bother you, they start feeling accomplished. So I think that if you really don't let it make you upset, the bullies will be defeated by you basically killing them with kindness. And that's been my motto for the longest time – get to them through kindness!"”
Selena Gomez
“I was definitely picked on in school, I was definitely made fun of for being in [show business, but I] didn’t have it as bad as it is now. [Homeschooling] did help for a minute, but then I got into this industry, and it kind of came back up again. [Now] I get criticized by adults who say awful things about me on the Internet, things that affect me that I try not to read.”
Victoria Justice
“Tell your friends at school who are being mean to someone that that's not okay. Even if someone did something that hurt your feelings or did something that's not really that cool or mean to you, take the high road! Just don't talk to them, don't hang out with them. Don't spread rumors about them, though, and don't torture them and try make it your goal to make their life miserable. You wouldn't want someone doing that to you. If people are bullying you, they don't matter. They're insecure about themselves. Go to your family for support. Make friends that are also really supportive.”
Taio Cruz
“I would say I was more of the protector of the people who were weaker than myself and slightly bullied by those stronger than myself. It’s not fun for any kid.”
Danny Gokey
“I still get bullied – it’s weird. I did all the time. I remember one time I got jumped outside of my high school, I was 15 years old and I peed in my pants; I’m not lying, I was so scared.”
Lance Bass
“If you are getting bullied in high school or junior high, find one of your best friends and talk about it. Don’t hide it inside, also know that this time passes like that. You wont even remember being bullied five years from now. You will never see those people again, you will realize how stupid they were and how insecure those people are.”
Daniel Radcliffe
“We have a responsibility to be better to each other, and accept each others’ differences regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ability, or religion and stand up for someone when they’re bullied. When a friend is feeling depressed or says they’re thinking of killing themselves, we must take it seriously and get them help.”
Have Your Say
We want to know what YOU think about bullying. Have you ever been bullied? What did you do? Are you a bully? Why? What can we all do about bullying? Let us know by leaving a comment below!