bullying

The Young And The Breastless: Even The Bass Copped It From Bullies Whilst Growing Up

2:57PM Jess McGuire | Beautiful, talented, and not-at-all-frightening television presenter (and pop star and actress) Natalie ‘The Bass’ Bassingthwaighte has confessed she was tormented by hideous bullies during her younger years! The So You Think You Can Dance host clearly remembers being bullied at school and called names such as, “liquorice legs” and, “the young and the breastless”. “It made me feel really insecure and question who I was,” she said. “Could it be? That I am actually made of liquorice?” More »

Demelza’s Modelling Career Off To A Flying Start

9:08AM Clem Bastow | Taking time out from her busy schedule packed full of water balloon lobbing and screaming “why can’t I make her break?!” at the full moon, Australia’s Next Top Model “winner” Demelza Reveley has begun her modelling career in earnest. This involved doing a trade show to launch Saba’s latest collection – not much news there, but I do like this vaguely damning faint praise that her agent (and AusNTM judge) Priscilla Leighton Clarke whipped up for the bullying teenager: “I’m not going to throw her in the deep end because she’s only 16 – Alice Burdeu was 20 and there’s a big difference in what she was able to take on,” she said. Reveley is set to make a chaperoned step on to the international stage next month, visiting casting agents in New York. The translation there is, “I’m not going to throw her in the deep end because unlike Alice, she does not have what it takes to be an actual top model. We’ve got some great Big W catalogue jobs that will look just darling on her.” Or so I’m told. More »

Australia’s Next Top Model 4 Round-Up: “Living Hell”

8:49AM Clem Bastow | I’m popping my head in briefly from my secret holiday bunker to discuss this week’s AusNTM episode. I actually watched it a week or so ago and was quite shaken by it. By now if you aren’t aware, the bulk of the episode depicted – in excruciating detail – the reign of terror inflicted upon poor Alamela by a pack of bullies led by Demelza (who, in a delicious basket of ironing, once had to move schools as she was the victim of intense bullying). At the time of watching the episode I was pleased to see Charlotte Dawson fly off the handle at them come elimination time (her calling them the “Dapto dogs” was particularly thrilling), but it seems I am not the only one now wondering if there shouldn’t have been further action taken, with this week’s evictee (and Alamela ally) Belinda Hodge speaking out: Hodge claimed Rowan had come close to a nervous breakdown over the bullying and was “honed in on from day one” by a few of the contestants who called themselves the “bitch-keteers”. More »

Sobs All ‘Round As Mum Buys Opera-Singing Bullied Son A Curry

12:28PM Clem Bastow | We were reading yesterday about Britain’s Got Talent’s latest sob-story contestant – a schoolboy from the council estates, Andrew Johnston, who is bullied for singing opera and choral at church – and thinking the whole thing smacked rather strongly of spin. Paul Potts Syndrome, if you will. That was until we a) saw him sing, and b) read the follow-up story on today’s news.com.au coverage, and started blubbling like babies at his mum’s reaction to the fuss over her talented son. Call us softies (and you’d be right), but we don’t think there’s anything that isn’t geniune about mum Morag’s response: “This has been an expensive day for us, traveling down to the audition, but it’s so special for him – it’s something he will never forget,” she said. “Now we’ll go back on the train in luxury, and we’ll get him an Indian meal. It’s all he’s been talking about. “He does a paper round, but to say ‘well done’ I’ll buy him the computer game he’s been saving up for. And he can put the money toward buying a cage for his hamster Chubby instead. “I’m so proud of him today. He has a brilliant voice. But no matter what he sounds like, he’s still just a young boy at heart.” The train! A curry for dinner! A computer game! A CAGE FOR HIS HAMSTER CHUBBY! Seriously, this is worse than that Hallmark ad with the old lady crying across the road, or the ducklings in the Kleenex box. If Johnston doesn’t win this series of Talent, clearly the people of Britain have no hearts. More »

Beth Ditto Talks About Bullying

10:55AM Jess McGuire | We just stumbled across this clip of Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto talking about bullying (while watching another video featuring Beth and former Pulp star Jarvis Cocker collaborating on a cover of Heaven17’s Temptation) and we felt we should write about it as it sends an important message out to Young People who are, of course, our primary audience here at Defamer Australia. Well, Young People – and Homosexuals. And Women. And the odd Straight Adult Male. Oh, and occasionally Reporters from Assorted Current Affairs Shows (there’s a story for another day!) but mostly, MOSTLY, youthful homosexual Anna Corens. Wait, what? We’re confused. Here’s Beth’s advice on bullying. In summation – Beth is more than just an especially curvy figure on the cover of NW Magazine when they choose to bang out one of their “STARS PILE ON THE POUNDS… AT LAST!” photo specials, she is also a rocker against high school bullying who believes pushing people into lockers is “totally boring”. We’ve all learned something here today. More »