The YouTube star, who became an Internet sensation with her single 'Friday', recalls in an Instagram post about getting food thrown at her and her friends in school.
- Feb 12, 2020
AceShowbiz - Rebecca Black is well familiar with the negative effects that came along with instant fame. Nine years after becoming an Internet sensation with her debut single "Friday", the YouTube star got candid about falling victim to bullying in aftermath of its viral success.
Commemorating the anniversary of the 2011 anthem, the 22-year-old shared a lengthy Instagram post about what she had to endure ever since. "9 years ago today a music video for a song called 'friday' was uploaded to the internet. above all things, i just wish i could go back and talk to my 13 year old self who was terribly ashamed of herself and afraid of the world," she began.
"to my 15-year-old self who felt like she had nobody to talk to about the depression she faced," she continued. "to my 17 year old self who would get to school only to get food thrown at her and her friends. to my 19 year old self who had almost every producer/songwriter tell me they'd never work with me. hell, to myself a few days ago who felt disgusting when she looked in the mirror!"
Despite the struggles, Black vowed in the post dated February 11 to see the positives. "i'm trying to remind myself more and more that every day is a new opportunity to shift your reality and lift your spirit," she said. "you are not defined by any one choice or thing. time heals and nothing is finite. it's a process that's never too late to begin. and so, here we go! this might be a weird thing to post but the honesty feels good if nothing else."
Back in 2011, Black collected more than 100 million YouTube views in a month with her "Friday" music video, but it was not for the right reason. She, instead, found herself being the butt of online jokes. Years later, she addressed the cyber-bullying in an interview with Rolling Stone. "I'd be lying if I said I was totally over the 'Friday' stuff and that it doesn't affect me," she admitted.
"When you're 13, and you get so many people giving you death threats, telling you that you don't deserve to live this life, calling you ugly, fat, terrible, the worst person in the world, that will affect you," she confided. "I just try to give myself a break every now and then, and take some of the pressure off of trying to prove myself to everybody."
In another interview with BuzzFeed, the "Do You?" singer further shared her distress. "It's not that I was protecting this thing as, like, my prized most beautiful creative thing I've ever made in my life. But it was me," she said. "And that was my face. And that was my name people were making fun of."
