With the tragic string of gay teen suicides stemming from bullying, national awareness of the disturbing trend is at an all-time high.
Many celebs have spoken out about the crisis (including Ellen DeGeneres and Rob Thomas, amongst many others) and today marks National Spirit Day, in which people are encouraged to wear purple to show "support for the teens who took their lives because of anti-LGBT bullying."
On Tuesday, keeping with the theme of teen bullying awareness, during a visit to The Oprah Winfrey Show, singing sensation Susan Boyle opened up about the torment she faced from bullies.
Boyle, 49, who became an overnight star due to her stirring 2009 appearance on Britain's Got Talent in which her amazing rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream" silenced snickers from the crowd and rolled eyes from the judges.
But, the taunts for Boyle about her unconventional looks and manners started long before her big break. The Scottish native revealed to Winfrey, "(High school bullies were) burning my clothes with a cigarette and stuff like that and trying to trip me up. It wasn't really human. I was being hit around the head, stuff like that."
The singer, who also said she was a victim of repeated name-calling, opened up about the devastating effects it had. "It made me feel as if nobody loved me. I really didn't matter. I was just a target. Once you give bullies that power, they've really got a hold on you," Boyle eloquently stated.
But, unlike many tortured teens who don't have an outlet for their pain, Boyle found music. She explained that while she couldn't physically or emotionally fight back (Boyle thinks she was a "coward" around her bullies), she used her talent as a tool.
As Boyle put it, "What you do is you do well in something and you try and gain their respect in some way, and that's what I was trying to do with my singing." Watch the clip below!
Of course, the joke is on those bullies now. Boyle had one of the best selling albums of 2009 and is currently promoting her second album called, fittingly, The Gift, as well as her memoir called The Woman I Was Born To Be. Now, thankfully, Boyle told Winfrey, "I feel loved. And that's something I didn't feel when I was younger."
Were you bullied as a teen? Chime in below.
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