The insidious crime of cyberbullying is becoming ever more pervasive in our current digital age; studies show that more than half of adolescents today actually engage in bullying or have themselves been victims. Public shaming is practically becoming a sport, and students can be harassed not only in the schoolyard but online 24/7, with no break when they get home. Activist Lizzie Velasquez speaks out about overcoming the effects of bullying, recounting her vivid personal experiences that no one should ever go through. Her journey from victim to modern hero is portrayed in the new film A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story.
Lizzie was born prematurely at two pounds 10 ounces with an undiagnosed genetic disorder making her unusual-looking from birth. Although she required multiple surgeries and was extremely skinny, her parents raised her as a normal girl. Her father, a teacher in her elementary school, introduced Lizzie each year to her new class, helping them to eventually accept their unique classmate. Despite being bullied outside of her classroom, Lizzie’s life was standard American fare: cheerleading, spending time with friends, celebrating her quinceanera. Lizzie never recognized herself as different. Then the bottom dropped out: As she says, “When I was 17, everything changed.”
At that time, Lizzie randomly found a brief video of herself on YouTube titled “The World’s Ugliest Woman” that had already garnered four million views and hundreds of heinous comments by the time she found it. The online harassment from this video went on for years. The nasty person who posted it (never identified) responded to Lizzie’s efforts to remove the video: “I WILL NOT GIVE UP. I will reload it again and again and again.” A Brave Heart is Lizzie’s tale of how she was able to rebuild her life after this unimaginable offense.
In order to combat her now-public “ugly” image, Lizzie launched her own YouTube channel. She focused on creating content where she discussed positivity, beauty tips, and fashion (and I must say she has a very tasteful fashion sense). She practiced patience and did not deny any bullies access to her channel. Over time, she found the comments became overwhelmingly positive. Creating videos and receiving feedback helped rebuild her confidence.
She then received a call that led to her giving a TED talk in Austin, where Lizzie spoke clearly about finding her strength and admonished, “You decide what defines you. You take that negativity that you have in your life to make yourself better.” She continued, “I’m going to let my goals and my success and my accomplishments be the thing that defines me, not my outer appearance.” Her TED talk was so moving and impactful (it has nine million views to date on YouTube) that this video “ absolutely changed everything” again — this time for the positive. The talk led to TV interviews, international speaking engagements, and an invitation to lobby for the Safe Schools Improvement Act in Washington, DC. Now, at 26, Lizzie sees her role as bigger than herself: she wants to be the voice for every child that has been bullied.
This award-winning film was directed by first-time filmmaker Sara Bordo, who met Lizzie at her 2013 TED talk and began chronicling Lizzie’s experience in order to “shine a light” on her brave story of courage. The film includes interviews with Lizzie, her parents, teachers, relatives, and family friends who review her childhood leading up the cyberbully attack. Providing accompaniment to Lizzie’s tale of empowerment, the film’s soundtrack is punctuated with inspiring music including Sara Bareilles’ touching song “Brave.”
A Brave Heart: The Lizzie VVelasquez Story opens in theaters this Friday, September 25. On Saturday, there will be a special screening followed by a Q&A with the director Sara Bordo and Lizzie Velasquez at the Arclight in Sherman Oaks at 7 pm.
Karen Henry is an Associate Editor at LA YOGA who volunteers in a variety of capacities for nonprofit organizations and artists around Los Angeles. She practices yoga as a counterbalance to her daily impact sports and is a mother of four grown children who also practice yoga . Now, she’s working on teaching yoga and joy of life to the grandkids!