Gossip Teen

Actress Demi Lovato has been outspoken about the effects bullying can have on a person. The Sonny With A Chance star has spoken about her past experiences as a target of the emotional and verbal abuse. She has made a public service announcement (see it here) to educate and inform how isolating and devastating the aggressive act can be.

The 17 year old Disney star has joined teensagainstbullying.org in part because she is inspired by her younger sister, 8 year old Madison De La Garza, who stars on Desperate Housewives. Lovato wants to keep her sister’s self esteem positive as she grows up.

“She’s getting to that age where she could start becoming insecure,” Lovato says. “I want to be able to help other girls around her age come into their own with a strong confidence in their skin, their size, who they are and everything about themselves.”

Lovato, who quit public school when she was younger, was home-schooled because of the pressure from bullies.

“Bullying is a very serious thing to me, I’ve witnessed it first hand — I was bullied myself when I was 12,” she says.

Demi is comfortable being a role model and using her fame to help others through what can be a really rough time in their lives. Just one more reason to adore Demi!

[image: NY Post]

Bandslam’s Aly Michalka is joining the brand new show Hellcats that will air this fall on the CW. The 78violet singer is joining Gail O’Grady (Desperate Housewives, NYPD Blue) in the drama.

A drama set in the world of competitive college cheerleading. The former [Michalka] will play Marty Berger (“wicked smart, an acerbic outsider”), a student at Memphis’ Lancer University who’s forced to try out for the Hellcats – the college’s competitive cheerleading team – after she loses her scholarship. O’Grady will play her mother Wanda who tends bar at a rathskeller type snack bar on campus that serves food and drinks.

Aly’s also part of the 2011 movie ensemble cast for The Roommate, staring Leighton Meester, Cam Gigandet and Katerina Graham.

[image: Nikki Nelson/WENN.com]