8 Celebrities Who Faced & Overcame Bullying During Their High School Years

Some of the most famous faces we know today, both internationally and locally, have endured such bullying. Despite the hardships, these 8 celebrities are prime examples of notable faces in the local and international scene who have survived and thrived, using their experiences to fuel their passions and careers.

1. Justin Bieber

Before he became the biggest pop star the world has ever seen, Justin Bieber faced his share of challenges during his school years.

Bieber was often bullied by his peers. His passion for music and early rise to fame through YouTube didn’t help make things easier, making him a target for teasing and harassment.

In an interview back in 2012, the then-18-year-old said, “I was bullied. Most people in their lifetime have been bullied at some point. I think that it’s about time that people start making a change.”

He went on to provide the soundtrack for a new TV spot for the “Bully” documentary with his song “Born to Be Somebody.”

“A lot of the time, principals let it go, or teachers let it go, or other students just let it go, but I think this movie’s really powerful and can help change a lot of lives,” he added.

2. Henry Golding

Despite his good looks and swooning charm, Malaysian-born actor Henry Golding has also shared his struggles with getting bullied due to his mixed heritage and unique appearance.

Golding once ranked the ninth most handsome man in the world, shared how he had grown up without a sense of home and had always struggled with his identity.

In an interview with The Guardian, he stated how he had faced racism-motivated bullying after moving to Surrey from Terengganu. “Casual racism was rife back then because there weren’t many Asians. We were called every racist name under the sun. It wasn’t even the right racist names, but they would just say them because they were kids.”

3. Bella Hadid

Although she has made a name for herself as one of the most famous supermodels in the world, life hasn’t been so easy for Bella Hadid.

According to Hadid, who is one of the highest-paid supermodels in the world, she used to face racist bullying while at school, coming from an Arab family living in America.

In an interview with GQ Magazine, the supermodel discussed how disconnected she felt living in California and away from her Palestinian roots after her parents divorced.

She went on to reveal that she often faced racist bullying at school for being the only Arab girl in her class and how she faced “racist name-calling,” she disclosed while adding that she was “never able to see myself in anything.”

“For so long I was missing that part of me, and it made me really, really sad and lonely,” she shared.

4. Lee Zii Jia

The bronze medalist at the Olympic Games, Asian champion and All-England champion has been quite open and transparent with his struggles with bullying and cyberbullying, even in recent times.

In an interview with Xuan, Lee revealed that despite his dedication to the sport and his string of achievements, his journey to the top wasn’t smooth due to excessive bullying.

“I entered sports school when I was 13. When I was 14, midway through the year, I called my mother saying: ‘I want to go home. I don’t want to (play badminton) anymore.’“

Lee added that it was because he had been alienated from his peers, who disliked his devotion to training and would often leave him to sleep alone despite staying in a dorm with six others.

“I would cry myself to sleep every day,” he said. His peers would also take measures to avoid him in the cafeteria. “I would take my plate, and just as I started to sit (at the table), at that moment, all of them would grab their plates and leave,” he said.

5. BTS' V

Kim Taehyung, better known as V, is part of one of the most influential male boy groups the world has ever seen. Despite his meteoric rise to fame, V has also experienced bullying in school.

In a video clip where V shared his own heartbreaking childhood experience, he said, “I also once almost lost all my friends because of this one friend I had. My friend was good at school and good at sports and did everything well, while I was just average.”

“We were close, but then I started to feel like he didn’t think of me as his friend but rather as someone inferior to him. I had noticed that, but we remained friends anyway,” he said.

One hurtful event happened during his friend’s birthday party, during which V was purposely lied to about the venue.

“I didn’t know where to go, so I waited outside for three hours with the gift certificate while trying to figure out where I should go. When I saw him, I said, ‘It’s time for me to go home now, so I’m going to leave.’ and left. I remember crying so hard as I walked home.”

6. Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson may be known for portraying supernatural beings, such as Edward Cullen in the Twilight series and Batman in The Batman (2022). However, it seems that not even Batman is safe from bullying.

Speaking to Parade in 2010, Pattinson shared how he was beaten up often as a kid. "I got beaten up by a lot of people when I was younger. I was a bit of an idiot, but I always thought the assaults were unprovoked.”

“It was after I first started acting, and 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," he shared.

7. Sydney Sweeney

Considered one of Hollywood’s current leading female actors, her childhood was a massive struggle as she had not only gotten bullied for wanting to pursue her acting dreams but also for her body.

She told Glamour that when she used to travel to LA for auditions, “People from back home … didn’t understand what we were doing, and so I got a lot of hate for that.”

“I was getting so many terrible phone calls and emails and just random text messages from people telling me I should kill myself, that I’m ugly, [and] telling my parents they can’t believe that they’re letting their daughter go to a hell-ridden city.”

At one point, the bullying became so bad that her school had to intervene by calling the police, who had to warn the other kids about their behaviour.

8. Taylor Swift

Swift, who is adored d by fans all over the world and is undoubtedly one of the biggest female artists globally, previously admitted that she actually had no friends back in school.

In fact, she revealed that her lack of friends drove her to express her emotions through song-writing.

In an interview with In Style magazine, Taylor admitted that her classmates left her isolated because they thought she was 'weird and different'.

She said, "I first started writing songs because I didn't really have anyone else to talk to. As sad as that sounds, I was going through this really hard time at school where I didn't have any friends. Songwriting for me just started out as therapy."

KAHAR: Kapla High Council

Like the inspiring stories of resilience and triumph over adversity from these eight celebrities, these narratives resonate deeply with the themes explored in Astro Shaw’s upcoming movie, KAHAR: Kapla High Council.

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KAHAR: Kapla High Council features socially invisible Kahar (played by Amir Ahnaff) as he risks tainting his family`s KUDRAT legacy when he volunteers for the Pilihanraya to protect his best friend from getting bullied.

The film delves into the struggles and triumphs of students navigating the challenges of high school, much like the celebrities who overcame bullying. By highlighting the strength and determination required to rise above such hardships, KAHAR: Kapla High Council promises to be a powerful and relatable story that echoes the real-life experiences of these celebrities, offering hope and inspiration to audiences everywhere.

Don’t miss KAHAR: Kapla High Council coming to cinemas nationwide on 28 November 2024. #StopViolence

For the latest updates and more information, follow Astro Shaw’s Instagram.

Watch the trailer below:

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