(Photo Credit: GQ)

Rap Star Opens Up About Being Bullied

Australian-born hip-hop star Iggy Azalea says the bullying she experienced in high school still affects her today. In an interview with RuPaul, Azalea said she still has a tendency to “self-sabotage” after being bullied for her quirky personality and outrageous fashion sense.

“There were people around me that I worked with who were like, ‘We love you and we think that you self-sabotage yourself,'” Azalea told RuPaul. “I knew that it was true and I think a lot of it was because I got bullied in high school and made fun of because I was always very ridiculous and over the top. So it was hard for me in my adult life to be able to tell the difference between somebody being critical and constructive, and somebody bullying.”

Azalea said she still deals with mental health issues, especially anger issues, despite her stardom and success. She recently attended an “intensive workshop” in Arizona to get back on track, emotionally. She also said that many fairweather friends in Hollywood “disassociated” themselves after Azalea became the subject of controversy about cultural appropriation in hip-hop.

She counts Demi Lovato, Quavo, and Kesha among her loyal supporters.

“But there definitely have been some people that I feel like, ‘Okay, wow, you’re really gonna completely disassociate because of other people’s perceptions?'” Azalea told RuPaul.