Jenny McCarthy: 'I was bullied as a teen'

Jenny McCarthy has admitted that she was often bullied by fellow classmates during her high school years.

In an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the actress spoke out about several recent suicides of gay teenagers and said that she could relate to their pain.

"I would have girls wait for me outside of school with pipes, to beat me up," she stated. "They were picking on me because their boyfriends would look at me on the way home."

The star continued: "After hearing all the bully stuff, I kinda went back and evaluated what I was thinking, looking out the window... Why didn't I tell my mum? Why didn't I tell my teacher? It was because I didn't want my mum or anyone to think I was weak."

McCarthy noted that her decision to stay silent about the harassment led her tormentors to increase their hostility.

"Then it got worse. By the time I got to high school, the girls... were throwing pies at my face, pulling out my hair, spitting on me and then the worst part was when they lit my hair on fire on the bus.

"I went to an all-girls Catholic school, need I say more. But we also went to school next to a public school, so we got on the bus, the city bus, and the public school [kids] got on the bus before us, so they'd just attack and be so vicious."

The actress explained that the bullying eventually became so intense that she began to skip school in order to avoid attacks by other students.

She concluded: "I literally got a call from my high school saying, 'If Jenny misses one more day of school, she's not gonna get her diploma', and my mum was like, 'You've gotta go'. I was so terrified."