“The Hills: New Beginnings” star Mischa Barton exclusively talks to The Voluntourist about how she deals with bullying and her work with Save the Children.
Mischa Barton was launched into superstardom at a young age when she took on the memorable role of Marissa Cooper on the hit teen drama “The O.C.” While she was hailed as one of the greatest child actors of the 90s, the glaring spotlight made fame challenging for rising star. She was constantly bashed in the media and was bullied at school.
Now the 33-year-old is taking a stand against haters. At the Don’t Hide It Flaunt It Awards–an event that celebrates, accepts and tolerates a person’s differences, Barton shared her story in hopes of encouraging others dealing with similar issues.
“The advice is to remember that everybody always puts the best version of them on the internet and it’s not real. So many people accomplish so much in this world who who have bullied their whole lives. Sometimes that bullying and getting picked on leads to success and that popular kid doesn’t always turn out to have the life you think they’re going to,” she exclusively told The Voluntourist.
“I’ve been bullied on and off my whole life, even as a kid for just wearing glasses and was pushed over in the schoolyard and stuff. It happens through all times in your life. Then you became famous and you kind of win, then you’re bullied again. You have to remember that life is a rollercoaster and you can accomplish whatever you want if you stay strong,” she added.
The reality star credits her family for helping her through the tough moments.
“My parents raised me to be strong and smart and to try to have a good perspective on things. It’s never easy growing up in the public eye or going through your more formative years with everybody having a spotlight on you. I’m intensely grateful for this next generation that they are more aware of the negative aspects of bullying people and being bullied. There’s a great conservation going on now that you can teach children that’s just not cool,” she said.
She continued, “They talk about it in school and it’s just so open. We always had to hide the fact that you were bullied. You had to pretend that it wasn’t happening. Now I think you can talk about it and that’s great. Have that conservation. You’re not that snitch going to your parents or teacher anymore.”
When it comes to social media, Barton has a few rules she lives by.
“I largely don’t pay attention to a lot of things that I know will be super negative. I pick and choose when I want to look. I pick and choose when I want to be on social media, when I feel like it’s appropriate. I don’t do it right bed. I don’t do it when I wake up except for when I want to get it out of the way. I pick and choose when it’s appropriate for me so it’s not injuring me in the bigger picture or seeping into my day or my every day life. If I take three days off Instagram then that’s fine by me. I do things in my own time and place now, which I think is much happier.”
In 2013 Barton traveled to India to shoot a film titled “Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain” which is based on true events of an industrial disaster that killed 10,000 people. That trip inspired Barton to advocate for others.
“Save the Children has been my main charity over the years. It started a long time ago, but it really ramped up when I went to go do this film in India and I got really into women’s education. That was what propelled my love for them. I’ve done a lot of different things for them, but I would say the main things besides anti-bullying, which I care deeply about, is that I focus a lot on women’s education and children,” Mischa Barton revealed.
“I just think India is a magical place and it really changed my life in my 20s. I became so intensely grateful for everything that I have and have had. I just found a nice calm sense of spirituality when I was there. That took my existence to the next level, which sounds corny, but it’s true. It left me feeling like I deeply cared and helping young girls and women makes me happy.”
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