‘Game of Thrones’ Star Maisie Williams Talks About Being Bullied

Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams has recently opened up about her experience with bullying. Williams admits she had an “awful time” with cyber bullying when she first began acting, and she agrees that the problem is “very serious” for young people.

Williams has since deleted several of her social media accounts, and she wants to raise awareness of the issue with her role in new U.K. TV drama Cyber Bully, in which she plays a teenage girl who is threatened and blackmailed by a computer hacker.

She tells Britain’s The Guardian newspaper, “I had an awful time. It was around the time I was starting to act, and I knew exactly who it was, but it was all anonymous. Just awful things. There were people all around me. And I was just stuck in my phone, stuck in this constant stream of what people thought of me. People just get kicks out of making other people sad. No one ever said anything to my face, ever. It was awful.

“One thing we didn’t want (Cyber Bully) to be was patronizing. I just wanted it to be real… I think it hurts even more. Kids are killing themselves. It’s very serious. Why do I need to hear what other people think of me? I’m happy. (Teenage) years are such a strange, strange time, because you’re just constantly trying to do the right thing and be liked. Or just go under the radar and fit in. And before you know it, you’re being attacked by everyone and it’s really scary.”

Cyber Bully airs in the U.K. next month.

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