Tori Spelling Opens Up About Being Bullied for Her Appearance While on Beverly Hills, 90210

Ally Mauch
·3 min read
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Tori Spelling is opening up about being bullied for her looks by “internet trolls” during the time that she was on Beverly Hills, 90210 as a teenager.

In a lengthy Instagram caption Monday, the actress shared that she has always been insecure about her eyes and her face because of hurtful comments she got when she first entered the spotlight and starred in the classic 1990s teen drama.

“My Dad always said ‘Your eyes are the windows to your soul,’” Spelling began in the post, referring to her late father, Hollywood producer Aaron Spelling. “I’ve never forgotten that. Because of that belief my Dad rarely let his actors wear sunglasses in a scene. He believed their eyes conveyed everything. All emotions.”

Despite carrying her father’s words with her, she said that she “used to hate” her eyes because of online bullies who called her “frog” and “bug-eyed.”

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My Dad always said “ Your eyes are the windows to your soul”... - I’ve never forgotten that. Because of that belief my Dad rarely let his actors wear sunglasses in a scene. He believed their eyes conveyed everything. All emotions. - I’ve carried that motto thru my life. I always look people in the eyes. I hold their gaze always. I never look away. I’ve taught my kids to always show people respect and look them in the eyes when they are talking to them. - I used to hate my eyes. When I started 90210 at 16 I was filled with low self confidence. Then, internet trolls ( yep we had them back then too!)called me frog and bug eyed. Being put under a microscope as a young girl in her formative years was hard. I spent years begging makeup artists on my shows and movies to please try to make my eyes look smaller. I would cry over my looks in the makeup trailer chair. - I didn’t start to realize what an asset my eyes were till I did Scream 2 and the cover of Rolling Stone reenacting the iconic shower scene from Psycho. My eyes made that photo. They showed the emotion I was “feeling in my soul” in that picture. - Now, my face. Many people ask why I only show one side of my face. Some write hurtful things. Yes, it is a choice. My choice. Because, a vulnerable innocent excited girl showed all of her face at 16 and was eaten alive. Choices about my looks were made for me by nameless and faceless accounts. Words can’t be unread. Cyber bullying existed then and it does now worse than ever. So, every time one of you ask me why I don’t look straight on in photos and videos know why I make that choice. Years of hurtful comments that I don’t even want to share to give them energy. Way worse than bug or frog eyes. Just remember next time that you go to comment on someone’s account regarding their face or body or choices, you don’t know them. They don’t know you. But, their soul will remember that unkind comment. It’ll be imprinted on them. Our memories can’t remember physical pain but we do remember emotional, verbal, and written pain. - That said. Here’s me. Straight on. I love my eyes now. They make me uniquely me. And, I rarely wear sunglasses. (Scroll 2see Rolling Stone cover)

A post shared by Tori Spelling (@torispelling) on Oct 18, 2020 at 12:28pm PDT

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“When I started 90210 at 16 I was filled with low self confidence,” Spelling, 47, wrote. “Then, internet trolls ( yep we had them back then too!)called me frog and bug eyed. Being put under a microscope as a young girl in her formative years was hard. I spent years begging makeup artists on my shows and movies to please try to make my eyes look smaller. I would cry over my looks in the makeup trailer chair.”

Alongside the moving caption, Spelling shared several photos of herself, one recent, one from Beverly Hills, 90210 and one from a cover of Rolling Stone. She said the last photo helped her regain her confidence — “My eyes made that photo. They showed the emotion I was ‘feeling in my soul’ in that picture.”

In addition to the insecurities around her eyes, Spelling said “years of hurtful comments” prompted her to only ever show the camera one side of her face.

Ari Perilstein/Getty Images

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“Many people ask why I only show one side of my face,” she wrote. “Some write hurtful things. Yes, it is a choice. My choice. Because, a vulnerable innocent excited girl showed all of her face at 16 and was eaten alive. Choices about my looks were made for me by nameless and faceless accounts. Words can’t be unread. Cyber bullying existed then and it does now worse than ever.”

Spelling concluded her post with a message to her fans, advising them to think before they comment on someone else’s appearance.

“Just remember next time that you go to comment on someone’s account regarding their face or body or choices, you don’t know them,” she wrote. “They don’t know you. But, their soul will remember that unkind comment. It’ll be imprinted on them. Our memories can’t remember physical pain but we do remember emotional, verbal, and written pain.”

“That said. Here’s me. Straight on. I love my eyes now. They make me uniquely me. And, I rarely wear sunglasses.”