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Priyanka Chopra opened up about her past during a recent interview with Marie Claire. Specifically, the actress spoke about her past experiences with racist bullies, recalling how she had experienced horrible cruelty as a teenager in a Massachusetts high school.
And the memories still affect her today. When asked about the racism she’s experienced, Chopra said, “It’s so difficult to hear you talk about it right now.” She went on to explain that one classmate in particular was especially mean to her though she wasn’t sure why she had it out for her.
She told the outlet, "In high school, I feel like the kids who were after me didn’t even understand why. I think it’s that they decided that they were more powerful than someone else—me—and when you pick on someone, it’s because you’re insecure."
"Bullying happens to kids and adults. It happens with positions of power, and we’ve all seen that abused in multiple ways," Chopra added.
At the time, Chopra said that the bullying had a strong impact on her.
She explained, "It affected me adversely. It affected my confidence; it affected who I wanted to be. I felt exposed, when your skin is raw."
Chopra touches more on these experiences in her upcoming memoir, Unfinished.
Plus, in the book, the actress responds to the accusations of perpetuating racism and colorism that have been following her since she promoted skin-lightening creams a decade ago.
She told Marie Claire, "[Skin lightening] was so normalized in South Asia; it’s such a large industry that everyone was doing it. In fact, doing it is still a check [mark] when you are a female actor, but it’s awful."
"And it was awful for me, for a little girl who used to put talcum-powder cream on my face because I believed that dark skin was not pretty," the actress continued.
Although it took some time, Chopra has learned to accept and love herself for who she is. She explained, "For that girl who was so scared, I’m proud of the person that I evolved into. I dealt with a lot, and I came out thriving."
