Iggy Azalea says bullying led to 'self-sobotage'

26 June 2019

Iggy Azalea says childhood bullying led her to "self-sabotage".

Iggy Azalea

The 29-year-old star admitted her high school experience meant she found it difficult as she got older to read people and "tell the difference" when someone was being "constructive" rather than cruel.

In an interview with RuPaul, she said: "There were people around me that I worked with who were like, 'We love you and we think that you self-sabotage yourself'.

"I knew that it was true and I think a lot of it was because I got bullied in high school and made fun of because I was always very ridiculous and over the top.

"So it was hard for me in my adult life to be able to tell the difference between somebody being critical and constructive, and somebody bullying."

The 'Fancy' hitmaker spent time at a mental health retreat in Arizona, and she was glad for the experience of the "intensive workshop".

Meanwhile, last year Iggy admitted she can count the people who have been there for her on one hand - including Demi Lovato, Kesha and Quavo - because a lot of her other showbiz pals dropped her while she was dealing with her issues.

She previously said: "Everyone has pretty much acted like I don't exist. People like Charli [XCX], I'll see them in passing and say hi, there's no bad blood about that.

"But there definitely have been some people that I feel like, 'Okay, wow, you're really gonna completely disassociate because of other people's perceptions?'

"If I'm being honest, the only people who have been there for me are Quavo, Kesha and Demi."

Although the star wasn't keen on going on the retreat, she soon came round to the idea and realised she did have anger issues that were preventing her from reaching "the top of the mountain."

She said of her stay in Arizona: "I've never really sat down and had an honest conversation with professional people. It was good to say something to somebody who could give me the tools and information on how to make my life manageable. So it was really useful -- I'm glad that I went."