Rumer Willis opens up about bullying as a teenager

Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s daughter Rumer was born in the spotlight, resulting in bullies labelling her a “potato head” in her teens.

Rumer Willis at the premiere of One Upon A Time... In Hollywood on July 22, 2019 in Hollywood, California. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

As the daughter of two of the biggest movie stars of the 1990s Rumer Willis was born into a life of privilege and red carpets.

But being the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore also saw the now 30-year-old subjected to cruel taunts and called names like “potato head” when she was younger.

Now an actress in her own right with a role in the highly anticipated Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, Willis has spoken about how the bullying she received as a teen almost broke her.

Raised in rural Idaho until she was 15, Willis’ relative obscurity came to a end when her parents moved her and sisters Tallulah and Scout to Hollywood.

Everything changed when Rumer Willis (second from left) came to Hollywood at age 15. Picture: AP Photo/Chris Weeks.

In Hollywood, a teenage Willis came to the attention of celebrity bloggers who were unkind about her appearance.

“They said I had a huge jaw. They said I had a ‘potato head,’ ” she told HuffPost. “When you’re 14 or 15, I didn’t really understand having value in myself yet.

“My mind went to, ‘Okay, so if I get skinny or if I dress the right way or present myself very hyper-sexually and dress this way, then I’ll be valued.’”

Willis said she began to think her value was decided by if she was “desired by a man” rather than “what I thought about myself”.

The actress said comments about her appearance really affected her as a teen. Picture: Lilly Lawrence/WireImage.

Her parents are Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. Picture: BEI/REX Shutterstock.

But fortunately her mother Moore turned things around and reminded Willis not to pay attention to the unkind things being said about her.

“I definitely talked to my mum, and her thing was always, you can’t read the comments,” she said.

“You could post the most beautiful picture about how you’ve gone and you’re helping kids or you’re giving your time and someone will still find a way to rag on you.”

Willis also hit out in her interview at a photographer which she called out for photoshopping her jaw in 2016, telling HuffPost it was “really offensive”.

“Whether or not they realise it, it is a form of bullying, which I won’t stand for,” she added.

Rumer Willis attends the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards on April 20, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. Picture: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for GLAAD