Fil-Canadian star Shay Mitchell recalls experience with racism, bullying

Filipino-Canadian actress and model Shay Mitchell was bullied in school because of her mixed background.

In the latest issue of Self magazine, cover star Mitchell said that people would sometimes assume that her mother is a nanny in the neighborhood in Vancouver where she grew up. She also "vividly remembers being ostracized by girls."

 

This cover isn't just a cover. It was an honest eye opener about lifestyle vs diet. Pizza in moderation vs pizza erryday... ???? Prepping for this cover made me feel STRONG, and healthy and that if I really set my goals to do something and followed through, I would see results and I definitely did. I will always be the girl that can get in some excercise and NOT feel guilty about eating a slice(s) of pizza or a scoop(s) of ice cream- it's all in moderation! ????????????Check out my @selfmagazine cover OUT NOW!!!

A photo posted by Shay Mitchell (@shaym) on

Oct 18, 2016 at 9:02am PDT

"Instead of going to the cafeteria, I'd say, 'Why deal with this?' and I'd eat in a bathroom stall," she told Self magazine. "At least when I left school for the day, it stopped," she adds. "It doesn't now. You have your phone on you, and the bullying continues. I can't imagine having all these inescapable outlets when I was that age."

In an earlier interview with POPSUGAR, Mitchell admitted that she struggled with her Filipina identity when she was young.

"I didn't want to look like myself," Mitchell said, referring to her days as a teen when she wanted to have blonde hair and light skin.

"I think [girls] pick on things that they know you are insecure about," she added.

After an opportunity to travel and meet new people, Mitchell was able to accept herself more and stopped focusing on trying to fit in.

Mitchell has been using the attention she is getting from appearing in the hit show "Pretty Little Liars" to talk about bullying whenever she can. And because she is playing a gay character, Mitchell is also a proud advocate of LGBT rights and gender equality. — Aya Tantiangco/BM, GMA News