Tori Spelling Recalls Being Bullied Over Her Looks, 'Hurtful' Comments About Her Eyes

Tori Spelling opened up about being bullied over her looks when she was a teen in a post shared to Instagram on Sunday, saying internet trolls used to make fun of her eyes and called her "frog and bug-eyed."

The actress, 47, shared three photos: a recent selfie, a photo featuring her "90210" character Donna Martin in graduation cap and gown, and a pic of her posing on the cover of Rolling Stone back in 1997.

Spelling began her lengthy caption by talking about her father, the late Aaron Spelling.

"My Dad always said 'Your eyes are the windows to your soul'...I've never forgotten that," she wrote. "Because of that belief my Dad rarely let his actors wear sunglasses in a scene. He believed their eyes conveyed everything. All emotions."

"I've carried that motto thru my life. I always look people in the eyes. I hold their gaze always. I never look away," Spelling continued. "I've taught my kids to always show people respect and look them in the eyes when they are talking to them."

"I used to hate my eyes. When I started 90210 at 16 I was filled with low self-confidence," she added. "Then, internet trolls (yep we had them back then too!) called me frog and bug-eyed. Being put under a microscope as a young girl in her formative years was hard. I spent years begging makeup artists on my shows and movies to please try to make my eyes look smaller. I would cry over my looks in the makeup trailer chair."

Spelling said she didn't realize that her eyes were an "asset" until she starred in "Scream 2" and posed for the cover of Rolling Stone, on which she recreated the famous shower scene from "Psycho."

"My eyes made that photo. They showed the emotion I was 'feeling in my soul' in that picture."

The "Scary Movie 2" star noted that she received "hurtful comments" about her face in general, saying she was "eaten alive" by critics online.

"Now, my face. Many people ask why I only show one side of my face," Spelling wrote. "Some write hurtful things. Yes, it is a choice. My choice. Because, a vulnerable innocent excited girl showed all of her face at 16 and was eaten alive. Choices about my looks were made for me by nameless and faceless accounts. Words can't be unread."

"Cyberbullying existed then and it does now worse than ever," she continued. "So, every time one of you ask me why I don't look straight on in photos and videos know why I make that choice. Years of hurtful comments that I don't even want to share to give them energy. Way worse than bug or frog eyes."

The mother of five concluded her post by offering advice to fans who might be going through a similar experience.

"Just remember next time that you go to comment on someone's account regarding their face or body or choices, you don't know them," Spelling wrote. "They don't know you. But, their soul will remember that unkind comment. It’ll be imprinted on them. Our memories can't remember physical pain but we do remember emotional, verbal, and written pain."

"That said. Here's me. Straight on. I love my eyes now. They make me uniquely me. And, I rarely wear sunglasses."

Got a story or a tip for us? Email TooFab editors at tips@toofab.com.