Demi Lovato on being bullied: What they said to me sticks to me to this day

Demi Lovato talks being bullied on 'Katie'

Like many other kids, Demi Lovato was unfairly bullied at a young age. The singer, actress and new X Factor judge, who is now 20, opens up about being bullied on an upcoming episode of Katie, Katie Courics new talk show.

Lovato has used her experiences with an eating disorder and cutting to help others who are going through the same thing she did. Shes doing the same thing when it comes to bullying.

I also would like to raise awareness of bullying because people don't realize how badly that verbal harassment and cyber bullying affects you, she told Couric, reports Zap2It. It played more of a toll on me than if I was physically abused in school. I've always said I wished that they had just hit me in the face and gotten it over with because what they said to me sticks to me to this day and it affected me into the person I am today.

Demi said the bullies called her fat as well as other horrible things, which caused her to quit school.

The only way to get through it all was I left school and I was home schooled, she said. I called my mom crying and said 'you have to pick me up I have to get out of here I can't take it anymore.'

Demi is working to stand up to bullies in a big way. According to Just Jared, she was recently named ambassador for Mean Stinks.

I heard about the program last year, and thought it was such a great opportunity, Demi said. Theyre really trying to put an end to bullying.

image: Fox!