Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Jungle John: Toxic bullies made life hell
JOHN Barrowman’s sister has revealed he suffered horrendous bullying as a child – but it turned him into the man he is today.
Carole, 59, had to watch for years while her beloved younger brother was taunted and abused.
And while it “left a scar on him”, it also taught him to cut out “toxic people” in his life from an early age.
Carole is hoping I’m a Celebrity viewers will fall in love with John, 51, and help him lift the jungle crown, to prove all his early haters wrong.
She told the Mirror: “Bullying left a scar on John. He saw the nasty side of life when he was bullied.
“It was a very horrible experience for him. But he came through it all to become an entertainer and likeable personality.
HORRIBLE
“Now I know that if anyone was being bullied, John wouldn’t hesitate to stand up for them.”
Carole, who also co-authors novels with her brother, says he has always managed to take something positive from the tough times.
She explained: “He’s very conscious that you want to get rid of the people that are toxic and stay with the ones who build you up
“That’s definitely one of the lessons he learned from bullying.”
John was first tormented after his family moved from Glasgow to Aurora, Illinois, when he was eight, when his dad, John Snr, got a job at the Caterpillar tractor plant.
The Doctor Who and Torchwood star was initially preyed on because of his Scottish accent. Carole recalled: “A lot of the kids couldn’t understand what he was saying. They would harass him a lot.”
At high school John was even bullied by those in his drama class, where he had hoped to fit in. “The older kids were really very unkind,” said Carole, now a professor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“They were mean to him because they could tell that he was talented. They had been very aggressive.”
Carole and John, their older brother Andrew and their parents, Marion and John Snr – are a tightknit bunch. But despite the support of his family, John still struggled growing up. The actor – who married his partner of 28 years, Scott Gill, 55, in 2013 – was aware he was gay from age 13, but would date girls so as not to stand out.
“He would try to fit in to avoid getting bullied,” explained Carole.
John spoke about his experience in 2015, when a boy asked him for advice. John said: “I was bullied
because I was different. I’m also a gay man. Bullies need to get a life.
“The best thing to do is take a deep breath and walk away. If they start hitting you, just do what I did – drop and cover your head. And someone will come along and help you.”
And the star has followed his own advice. During his first big role, on US soap Central Park West in 1995, he claimed bosses asked him not to talk about his boyfriend. He refused and was sacked, but never regretted it.
The determination forged during the tough times in the schoolyard, has stayed with John for life. Carole said: “He’s learned how to deal with rejections He lets himself feel sorry for himself, and at times he’s angry and upset, but then he moves on.”