12 Former Bullying Targets Who Became Ridiculously Famous
It’s an incredible shame to hear how many people are bullied today or were bullied in the past, and that includes the famous celebrities, actors, singers, and athletes we all know. The following list includes a few very successful individuals who didn’t let their past hold them back from stardom.
Lady Gaga
As a young girl, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was thrown into trash cans, called terrible and profane names, and endured cruelty at school on a regular basis.
Now, Lady Gaga is a wildly successful and globally admired singer and dancer. Her “Born This Way” Foundation aims to enpower children and teens and promote a more amiable atmosphere for students.
Demi Lovato
This starlet has shared some painful experiences from her past with the world. In middle school, people actually create “hate petitions” about her and passed them around for other students to sign. Some gathered to smash her demo CDs, and even showed up at her house to scream cruel things at her. The abuse got so bad that she had to leave her public school. “Girls were just really vicious,” she said. Demi was eventually treated for bulimia and self-harm.
Today, at only 20 years old, Demi is a widely loved singer, song-writer, musician, actress, and current judge on The X Factor. She is also a spokesperson for the anti-bullying organization PACER and has spoken out publicly against bullying on CNN and various programs, such as America’s Next Top Model and Ellen.
Megan Fox
It was Megan’s dream of acting and friendship with boys that motivated her high school bullies. Says Megan, “I was not, even for a second, popular. Everyone hated me, and I was a total outcast, my friends were always guys… I have a very aggressive personality, and girls didn’t like me for that. I’ve had only one great girlfriend my whole life.”
Now, Megan can take solace in the fact that she is one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood. Plus, she was in Transformers. That’s pretty cool too.
Christian Bale
The Dark Knight actor was bullied after he became successful. After appearing in Steven Spielberg’s 1987 movie Empire of the Sun when he was 13-years-old, Bale had a very tough time at school. “Girls were all over me, boys just wanted to fight me” said Bale. The bullying got so bad, he almost gave up acting. “They put me through hell, punching and kicking me all the time.”
But Christian empowered himself to follow his dreams and live the life he wanted to live. And if he hadn’t, we wouldn’t have been able to see him as Batman, Dicky Eklund, John Connor or Alfred Borden.
Kristen Stewart
Our lovely Bella was bullied as a teenager for dressing differently than the other girls. Says Kristen to Vanity Fair: “Look at a picture of me before I was 15. I am a boy. I worse my brother’s clothes, dude!” But although she didn’t care much about her attire, she did care about how her classmates treated her because of it. “I remember this girl in sixth grade looked at me in gym and was like, ‘Oh my God! That’s disgusting – you don’t shave your legs!”
Now, Kristen stars in one of the most famous film sagas of the century.
Twilight. In case you didn’t know.
Tyra Banks
Tyra endured bullying when she in her middle school years. At first, she admitted she was a bully herself, telling other people they couldn’t hang out with her and her group. But two year later after losing some weight and growing a few inches, she was teased for being too thin and tall. The other students told her she looked sick and something was wrong with her. “I was the brunt of every joke, every bad thing. I hated my reflection in the mirror,” said Tyra. “I would try to stuff food down my throat to gain weight.”
Tyra grew up to be a supermodel and TV personality with her popular show, America’s Next Top Model.
Chris Colfer
As a gay teen, the odds were against Chris Colfer when it came to bullying. Homosexual students are at least 3 times more likely than heterosexual students to be bullied. Says Colfer: “I was harassed at school every day… I had things taped to my back.” Colfer was called melicious names on a daily basis due to his sexual preference.
Now, the world can hear Chris’s beautiful singing voice on Glee. His character, Kurt Hummel, is a gay student who we have watched suffer and overcome bullying on the show. Colfer has proven to be an inspiring activist for the GBLT community as well as a vocal anti-bullying advocate.
Eva Mendes
From 7th to 9th grade, Eva was consistently bullied by a girl at her school. She described it as “torture” that she dealt with by herself the entire three years. In one notable story Eva shared, her bully stomped on her brand new shoes that Eva’s mother had just bought her (which she had to work two jobs to pay for). She never told her mother about it because she was afraid she would make it worse, a common reason that victims tend to stay silent.
Inspired by her mother’s love and ambition, Eva eventually stood up for herself. Although she has not publicly gone into detail on what she said to her bully, it must have worked. She never bothered her again.
Since then, Mendes has portrayed characters in dozens of movies, such as Hitch, The Other Guys, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Cleaner, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
Robert Pattinson
This handsome British actor has revealed that he was beaten up quite a bit when he was younger as a result of his acting endeavors. Robert told Parade.com, “I liked to behave like an actor, or how I thought an actor was supposed to be, and that apparently provoked a lot of people into hitting me.”
Today, Robert is a teen idol with adoring fans all around the world, particularly due to his portrayal of Edward from the Twilight series. He is currently one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood.
Kate Winslet
As a child, Kate Winslet was teased for supposedly being chubby. In fact, her classmates dubbed her “Blubber” and locked her in an art cupboard. She told Marie Claire Magazine that, due to the many insults, she feared nobody would ever “fancy” her.
Now, Ms. Winslet is an award-winning actress and considered one of the most beautiful women in the world.
Clay Aiken
Aiken revealed his experiences with bullying on the Dr. Phil show in 2005, where he described his entire school career as “a really tough time”. Because Clay was in musicals and the other guy in the choir, his classmates picked on him. “There was a long time when I didn’t want to sing because I thought people are going to pick on me,” said Clay to Dr. Phil.
Clay’s talent was strongly proven when he was chosen by America to win American Idol in 2003. His multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released that same year. Aiken has also appeared on television and broadway.
Michael Phelps
In school, Phelps remembers having his ears flicked and his hats tossed out windows. He was teased by his pupils for his “gangly limbs, big ears, and lisp,” and the fact that he was on the swimming team and not the football or lacrosse teams.
Phelps, at 27, is now known worldwide for being the most decorated Olympian of all time. With 22 medals, we are delighted that his difficult childhood did not bring him down.
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And the list goes on. Christina Aguilera, Fred Durst, Taylor Swift, Rosario Dawson, Adam Levine, Lars Ulrich, Tom Cruise, Rihanna, Emma Watson, Howard Stern, Sandra Bullock, Miley Cyrus, Chris Rock, Bill Clinton, Pierce Brosnan, Tiger Woods, Victoria Beckham, Justin Timberlake, Kate Middleton, Mika, Eminem, Taylor Lautner…
More and more stories continue to surface, and although it is very sad to hear about decent people being treated badly, it is encouraging to see how far they have come in spite of it. Just goes to show you that bullying should never stop you from achieving your dreams.