Rising above the hate. Charlotte McKinney revealed in a new interview with Ocean Drive magazine, published Friday, January 27, that she dropped out of high school after she was bullied and called a “slut.”
“Obviously, I got more attention from the male side than from the female side,” the model said of her tough teen years. “I didn’t have any girlfriends. A lot of my friends were guys, and I was called a slut by a lot of people. I was just growing these large breasts at such a young age, not really knowing what to do with them or how to wear them. So it was definitely awkward.”
As a result, the 23-year-old actress said, she was called names and bullied, especially by her female peers. “Girls would yell at me and call me a slut,” she said. “I would go to parties and get beer thrown on my head — there was so much bullying. It was just so awful, and that’s why now I kind of use my platform to promote anti-bullying. I try to use what I went through to be a voice for it, because it’s still happening and getting even worse now with social media.”
In addition to developing early, the Guess model also revealed she is dyslexic, which made school even more difficult. “I had really bad dyslexia and I was failing,” she said. McKinney dropped out of high school at the age of 17, determined to break into modeling. “If I’d stayed in school, then I would still be in school now. I am much more of a visual person and school was just never really my answer, and I knew that at a really young age.”
The blonde bombshell, who will appear opposite Zac Efron and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in this year’s Baywatch, added that she doesn’t have any immediate plans for plastic surgery. (“My boobs,” she said in a nod to her famous assets. “I had them at 14 years old. So they are definitely not enhanced; they are real. I kind of just always had them.”)
Not that she would judge anyone for choosing to get plastic surgery. “If that’s what makes you feel better, then go for it,” she said of going under the knife. “But for me, I just don’t see the point. I’ve always said I want to get a nose job, but I think it just makes you lose your face. Some things that aren’t perfect on people are actually extremely gorgeous.”
In addition to Baywatch, McKinney has also starred in Joe Jonas’ DNCE music video for “Body Moves” (both she and Jonas, 27, are part of the new Guess campaign) and made her mark as a sloppy eater in Carl’s Jr.’s 2015 Super Bowl ad. She will also star opposite Charlie Sheen (as his sister!) in upcoming film Mad Families.
