Healthy Hollywood typically posts fitness items on Monday. But, when you meet a powerhouse celebrity, like Demi Lovato, who is taking a firm stance on bullying, well this to me is the ultimate give-back fight.
Bullies come in all shapes, sizes and ages and I absolutely can’t stand those who need to make themselves feel better by picking on or excluding others. Bullying sucks and ruins lives!
Healthy Hollywood caught up with my new fave celebrity at an anti-bullying assembly in Harlem, New York. Demi is the new ambassador for Secret Deodorant’s Mean Stinks campaign and was the surprise guest at the school’s event. The kids when nuts when the teen icon entered the room; but her message to them was loud and clear – bullying stinks!
“I’m so thankful to be able to help these girls and speak up about these issues because when I was younger, there weren’t people talking about anti-bullying. And the only form of bullying that I recognized was physical abuse from other students and so when I was being harassed by verbal abuse, I wasn’t aware that was bullying,” reveals Demi to Healthy Hollywood.
Healthy Hollywood is all too familiar with bullying and the deep pain it can cause. In middle school, I was severely bullied by my so-called best friends and let me tell you the pain never leaves and affects all areas of your life from relationships to not believing you deserve the best. Even Demi, who was harassed so badly at school that she had to be drop out and be home-schooled, admits she fights the bully inside her every day. “Since it had been beaten into me by these other girls with their words that I wasn’t good enough, these really mean things stuck with me and would cause issues later on that I had to deal with. And, to this day, there’s a little negative voice inside me and I just I have to tell myself that’s not who you are. I feel like the bully inside you is an offspring from the bully that actually bullied you. I feel like they plant a seed and when that grows it is because they told you for so long that you weren’t good enough.”
Today Demi reveals to Healthy she’s in an awesome place. With self-help work, she has conquered her self-destructive demons and has come out on top. She’s a breakout hit on “The X-factor” and to me is the best role model of her generation.
And, she truly cares about other and if they’re suffering low self-esteem, adding, “My heart goes out to everybody that deals with issues and I just the hope the best for them and part of me spreading the awareness of anti-bullying is trying to prevent that little voice inside of your head that tells you “you’re not good enough and therefore it causes you all these issues.”
If you want to support Secret’s Mean Stinks campaign paint your pinky finger blue to help spread peace and keep bullying out of your group of friends.
For more on this very important campaign, check out www.facebook.com/meanstinks.
— Terri MacLeod
Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.