I HATE BEING CALLED A BULLY
Teenage torment puts Jason on defensive
DANCING on Ice judge Jason Gardiner hates being called a bully because he suffered years of abuse as a teenager.
The acid-tongued star was targeted by classmates for being gay.
In a candid interview, Jason, above, told the Daily Star Sunday: “I am someone who was severely bullied in my childhood. It was horrendous. I know what being the victim of bullying’s like.
“So when anyone says I am a bully I put my foot down and say, ‘No, I’m going to respond to this because I was bullied… I know what it feels like’.”
While judging on Dancing on Ice, Jason was accused of picking on contestants. It was claimed he targeted Olympic star Sharron Davies, 55, as well as show mentor Karen Barber, 56.
But Jason is adamant his tough comments never crossed the line.
He said: “I never bullied anyone on the show. Bullying is a relentless attack on somebody because they’re different and they don’t conform to what is generally considered the norm. I don’t do that.
“I give a critique and then it moves on. So it’s not fair to attach the word bullying to anything I’m doing.
“To actually discount what the real term bullying is and apply it to what I’m doing on a show, I think really is a disservice to young people now who are experiencing bullying.” Jason is known for being the toughest judge ever seen on Dancing on Ice. But he insisted he only ever tries to help the celebs.
He said: “Everything I do say is for their betterment. It’s so they improve. It’s not just so I can beat them down.
“In the past a lot of the ones who have gone on to win the show have told me, ‘If it wasn’t for your comments I never would have got here because you really motivated me. Sometimes you really made me angry and I came back determined to prove you wrong’.
“That’s brilliant. That to me is golden. The public love my comments too.” Jason, 46, also insisted his persona is only for the TV. He added: “It is an entertainment show. “I am there to give an opinion and I do give my honest opinion.
“In real life I’m not like that. I don’t go around dissing everybody and being critical.”