‘Stranger Things’ Star Winona Ryder Was Bullied For Wearing Boys’ Clothes

Not all celebrities were well-liked during their middle school days. In fact, some of them even have horrible memories of being bullied, like “Stranger Things” star Winona Ryder.

In a recently resurfaced story from her biography, Ryder revealed that she was beat up so badly one time that she had to get stitches. The reason for the physical injuries? It was because she was wearing boys’ clothes.

It was Ryder’s third day of seventh grade at Kenilworth Junior High in Petaluma, California. She had a boyish haircut and did not dress like the other girls.

“I was wearing an old Salvation Army shop boy’s suit,” the actress said in Nigel Goodall’s book “Winona Ryder: The Biography.” “As I went to the bathroom I heard people saying, ‘Hey, f***ot [a homophobic slur].’ They slammed my head into a locker. I fell to the ground and they started to kick the [expletive] out of me. I had to have stitches.”

Unfortunately, instead of punishing her abusers, the school decided to kick her out instead.

As fate would have it, Ryder gained fame in Hollywood after starring in “Beetlejuice,” “Edward Scissorhands” and now, “Stranger Things.”

Ryder thought that fame would make her popular in school, but they only made her more of an outsider. “I remember thinking, ‘Ooh, [“Beetlejuice”] is like the number-one movie. This is going to make things great at school,’” she told Marie Claire UK. “But it made things worse. They called me a witch.”

Ryder only got the upper hand from her bullies when she was hanging out at a coffee shop. One of her former tormentors came up to her and had the gall to ask for an autograph.

“And I said, ‘Do you remember me? Remember in seventh grade you beat up that kid?’” said Ryder. “She said, ‘Kind of.’ And I said, ‘That was me. Go [expletive] yourself.’”

Because of her past experiences, Ryder has learned not to care much about what other people think. Just as long as Ryder feels happy and uncomfortable, she’ll wear whatever she wants. Her outfit of choice during the 2017 SAG Awards last January - a plain long, black dress - was no exception.

“I decided to forgo stylists and just go as myself,” Ryder told ET of her outfit. She paired the dress with jewelry from her grandmother and a ring in honour of the late actor, John Hurt. “I just wanted to be me,” she said.