Dancing With the Stars professional dancer Derek Hough spoke at the 10^th annual GLSEN's Respect Awards and said he was bullied when he was a kid, and even had a gun pointed to his head.

The star said he grew up in Utah where he suffered from bullying greatly.

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"I was punched in the face, pretty aggressively in the stomach. I was tied up in trees and left in fields," he revealed. "On one occasion, they would tie my ankles up with a very rough rope, hang me from a tree upside down and spit on me and call me names and even held a gun to my head."

He said he had asked himself why he was being bullied and why was it happening to him. He pressed that nothing was wrong with him, but it was actually on the people who did the bullying. People do such because they are not happy with themselves and don't love who they are, he added.

He also talked about forgiving. He said that he could not have control over other people and that you have to forgive people as you grow older because he believes that forgiving means giving.

The star also talked about how dancing helped him forgive people and love himself better. He said that it was his safe place where he could grow and flourish and the place where he could find the answers he was looking for.

The star also noted that he did not tell anyone about the bullying he suffered, and that it was a huge thing to suffer in silence. He then pressed that children who think they are being bullied should ask for help because they are not alone.

Hough was awarded the Inspiration Award by GLSEN for indeed inspiring many with his story and the lessons he had learned. Also in the event were Julia Roberts and Danny Moder who both received the Humanitarian Award. 

TagsDerek Hough, Dancing With the Star, professional dancer, bullied, child bullying, gun pointed to his head, dancing, safe place, GLSEN, Respect Awards