Tori Spelling opens up about being bullied for her looks during '90210'
Tori Spelling is getting honest about the bullying she endured for how she looked during her time on “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
On Sunday, the actor and daughter of TV legend Aaron Spelling shared a trio of pictures on Instagram, including a recent one of her face that looks like it was taken from below, as well as one of her as Donna Martin graduating from high school on “Beverly Hills, 90210” and another of her on the cover of Rolling Stone when “Scream 2” came out.
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“My Dad always said ‘Your eyes are the windows to your soul’ ... I’ve never forgotten that. Because of that belief my Dad rarely let his actors wear sunglasses in a scene. He believed their eyes conveyed everything. All emotions,” she began in her caption.
“I’ve carried that motto thru my life. I always look people in the eyes. I hold their gaze always. I never look away,” she continued. “I’ve taught my kids to always show people respect and look them in the eyes when they are talking to them.”
Interestingly, Jessica Alba recently made headlines when she said the "90210" cast forbade her from making eye contact when she appeared as a guest star on the Fox drama, an accusation that led Spelling to ponder the possibility that a "memo" was "going around from the producers or the (assistant directors) and we didn't even know."
Spelling, 47, was a teenager when “Beverly Hills, 90210” premiered and she said her lack of self-esteem was compounded by mean comments about her appearance.
“I used to hate my eyes. When I started 90210 at 16 I was filled with low self confidence. Then, internet trolls ( yep we had them back then too!) called me frog and bug eyed,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Being put under a microscope as a young girl in her formative years was hard. I spent years begging makeup artists on my shows and movies to please try to make my eyes look smaller. I would cry over my looks in the makeup trailer chair.”
Eventually, Spelling embraced her eyes.
“I didn’t start to realize what an asset my eyes were till I did Scream 2 and the cover of Rolling Stone reenacting the iconic shower scene from Psycho,” she wrote. “My eyes made that photo. They showed the emotion I was ‘feeling in my soul’ in that picture.”
Spelling, who has also been open about how her children have been bullied, also addressed why she insists on being seen from a certain vantage point, explaining it’s rooted in her youth.
“Now, my face. Many people ask why I only show one side of my face. Some write hurtful things. Yes, it is a choice. My choice. Because, a vulnerable innocent excited girl showed all of her face at 16 and was eaten alive,” she wrote.
“Choices about my looks were made for me by nameless and faceless accounts. Words can’t be unread. Cyber bullying existed then and it does now worse than ever. So, every time one of you ask me why I don’t look straight on in photos and videos know why I make that choice. Years of hurtful comments that I don’t even want to share to give them energy. Way worse than bug or frog eyes.”
The actor then concluded by reminding people that their words have an impact on others.
“Just remember next time that you go to comment on someone’s account regarding their face or body or choices, you don’t know them. They don’t know you,” she wrote.
“But, their soul will remember that unkind comment. It’ll be imprinted on them. Our memories can’t remember physical pain but we do remember emotional, verbal, and written pain. “That said. Here’s me. Straight on. I love my eyes now. They make me uniquely me. And, I rarely wear sunglasses.”