Raini Rodriguez Quotes

I remember after the second episode of 'Saturday Night Takeaway' aired, there were thousands of comments about how bad my teeth were. That got to me most because I was so insecure about my teeth as a child.

I was called such names as a kid. Being the smallest boy in the class with a name like Caroll. I remember going home and saying to my mom, 'What were you thinking?'

No matter where you are, the root of you is designed from a young age. So if my confidence was taken as a child, you can gain back a lot of the confidence, but that root of the cavity will still be there.

Growing up, I was picked on a bit; I was pretty heavy-set, and then I was a theater kid. I just felt unpopular and uncool, so I think in my mind I had this idea of fame and being popular and how nice that would be. The reality of it is sometimes it's not nice.

You don't have to listen to those mean girls. They're just there to make you upset and make you feel bad about yourself. And you know, inside, they feel bad about themselves too. But they don't wanna admit it to anybody.

Can I go one day without somebody saying something negative about me?

I was called fat and ugly in the press almost my entire life. I understand that being judged by others comes with the territory, but it broke my heart and ruined my self-esteem.

To this day, some of my closest friends say, 'Gaga, you know, everything's great. You're a singer; your dreams have come true.' But, still, when certain things are said to you over and over again as you're growing up, it stays with you and you wonder if they're true.

I was not very strong growing up, and my uncle used to look at me, like, 'This kid is not growing up, he is growing tall but he can be broken like a banana.' The banana in Congo is called 'Dikembe.' So my uncle start calling me, 'Dikembe, Dikembe, look at you Dikembe, you cannot even stand up.' It took a long time for me to walk.

My brothers used to call me Bob. They'd laugh at me, and I didn't get it. I'm 13 years old at the time, and then one day my brother's friend says, 'You know what Bob stands for? 'Booty on back.' You're fat.' Like my butt was so big I could reach for my wallet over my shoulder. And I broke down.

I was called 'Dumbo,' like the elephant, as a child because I couldn't understand things at school.

I was made fun of for being fat from fourth or fifth grade to eighth grade. That was pretty rough.

When I was a teenager, I was super-awkward. I don't think I really felt comfortable in my body or with how I looked, and people were nasty.

I was quiet a lot when I was picked on as a kid because I didn't have anything to say back.

Athletics are not my wheelhouse because sports were mean to this uncoordinated kid growing up, a 6-foot-2 14-year-old who never could do a layup.

I'm super grateful that there wasn't social media when I was a kid, but that sort of self-doubt crept in at a young age. It's bullying. It's the comments here and there, and maybe somebody says something to you that they don't even mean to be a mean-spirited comment, but they'll just kind of say it to you in passing.

I got teased my entire school life. What they were picking on I don't even understand.

At school, I felt out of place. I was bullied. I would think, 'These kids don't like me, they don't accept me,' but I felt like in the entertainment industry, I would fit in.

I've been bullied because of the way I've looked growing up.

Being a big kid, I was kind of fat and chubby, and I got picked on quite a bit.

Growing up, I always took things too personal and was very emotional, and I got made fun of for it.

Being called ugly every day is not easy on the psyche.

I avoid social media and articles with negative comments about myself, because the first few times that I got called 'fat' broke my heart; it absolutely destroyed me. It's awful when someone says something like that to you.

We had a severely autistic kid in my class, and I was always picked last in gym class, even after him. Naturally, that made me feel pretty bad as an eight-year-old.

Growing up, I was the awkward, chubby kid. I had a few close friends, but I was the first one to be bullied.