Derek Hough opened up about childhood abuse, describing how neighborhood bullies hung him from trees, held a gun to his head, and hogtied him—experiences he says left him terrified, struggling at school, and later helped shape his view of how far dance has com
Derek Hough remembers being a scared kid in a way that doesn’t soften with time. On The Bosstick podcast, the Dancing with the Stars judge described a childhood in which neighborhood bullies tormented him—hangings from trees included—and at one point put a gun to his head.
“We had these neighbors who were — bullying is kind of too nice of a word — they tormented me, where they would hang me up in a tree by my ankles and put a gun to my head and spit on me or hogtie me in a field,” Hough recalled. “I was scared. I would have night terrors and I would wet the bed.”
He said the fear didn’t arrive in isolated moments. “I was a scared kid, I was a terrified kid,” Hough continued. “Scared of the dark, scared of my shadow, just scared and constantly on edge.”
The bullying didn’t stop at his neighborhood. Hough said he struggled at school, admitting that his love of dance made things harder. “I was always on the outside just trying to fit in and get in there,” he said. “Being a dancer didn’t help. I would get the crap beaten out of me.”
At one school, Hough described being punched in the face. “At one school, a kid punched me in the face,” he added. “I’m bleeding everywhere, but then I retaliated and started beating him up, and then I got expelled from school.”
Hough said it wasn’t until he moved to London to live and practice with professional dancers that he began to let go of the constant fear—an exit from the version of himself who was “floating around and being scared.” “It was like I had clarity, and clarity is power,” he said.
That clarity eventually came with a new platform. Reflecting on what Dancing with the Stars has meant to him at an Emmy consideration event last April, Hough looked back to where his life started and how far it’s moved.
“For me. having a platform and having a stage like Dancing with the Stars that is elevating dance to new heights over this past. almost. 20 years. ” he said. recalling the time he was complimented on his and Mark Ballas’ Argentine tango during the season 33 finale. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me on some deeper level than just a compliment. It means a lot more because to see that little boy that grew up when dancing wasn’t cool. and to see where it’s now — it’s looked at as artistic athletes. ” he continued.
“Dancers are artistic athletes. And that, for me, is just an amazing thing. So, I’m just thankful for this beautiful show that has elevated dance so much.”
Derek Hough The Bosstick podcast Dancing with the Stars childhood bullying gun to head Salt Lake City depression Mark Ballas Argentine tango Emmy consideration event