Derek Hough opens up about childhood bullying, gun pointed at his head

Derek Hough puts his whole body on the dance floor.

While reflecting on the harmful consequences of bullying on young people, the Dancing with the stars The judge revealed he experienced “some pretty extreme things” in his youth.

“For those of you who don’t know this about me, I myself was severely bullied as a child,” Derek said in an Oct. 13 statement. Instagram video. “Being hung upside down from a tree, spat on, beaten, a gun pointed at the head, even a pig tied up in a field for hours. »

The 40-year-old added: “It was a whole new level of what you would call physical and emotional torture. »

The dance pro, whose wife Hayley Erbert is pregnant with their first child – explained that her past experiences and today’s digital age inspire her to build a better world for her child.

“It really made me think about the world we shape for each other,” he shared. “At some point we have almost been conditioned, perhaps without even realizing it, that the quickest way to get noticed is to turn to negativity, to cut through the noise by putting others down or being the loudest critic in the room.”