Peter Andre has revealed that he still straightens his naturally curly hair after suffering racist bullying as a child.
The 49-year-old TV personality admitted that, despite therapy, he continues to see “what others called me” when he looks in the mirror.
The “Mysterious Girl” singer and his family moved from London to Australia when he was just six-years-old.
“In the early years in Australia, I suffered a lot of racism. It was a rough time,” he told The Mirror.
“Not only were we the only Greeks on the Gold Coast, but I had an English accent, curly hair, a big nose – and we really stood out.
He adds: “I still straighten my hair because the curly hair reminds me of me being that little kid and those kids calling me what they did at school.”
Four decades later, he admits that he still “can’t bring [himself] to turn up to an event with full curly hair”.
He said: “I just can’t bring myself to do it, even now, and I’ve had therapy. I still see what those kids called me when I look in the mirror.”
It’s not the first time Andre has spoken out about bullying he suffered as a child.
In 2019, the singer joined a host of other celebrities in talking about his experience of being an “outcast” when he was growing up.
He said: “I remember these kids tied me up to a fence and took turns throwing stones at me trying to see who was going to hit me in the head. They were laughing and calling me a ‘greasy w**’, it was horrific. I was really scared, I was petrified.”
Research conducted by The Diana Award via a Survation poll found that more than half (57 per cent) of young people have been bullied at some point in their school lives.
And a 2020 report by the YMCA revealed that more than nine out of 10 (95 per cent) of children surveyed said they had heard and witnessed racist language at school, while almost half (49 per cent) said they believed racism was the biggest barrier to academic attainment.
