Little Rascals actor speaks of suffering homophobic abuse in new song
A gay US actor best known for his role in The Little Rascals has spoken about his experiences of homophobic bullying in a new song.
Blake McIver portrayed Waldo in the 1994 feature film. He was also the voice of Eugene in children’s animation Hey Arnold.
The 29-year-old has since become a singer and songwriter. His new song “It Gets Better” details the torment the child star faced during his school years at a private Baptist School in LA.
He told ContactMusic: “I was still very much uncomfortable with myself and very much in the closet. My junior high school was an extremely conservative environment.
“The bullying and ostracism from just an assumption that I was possible gay was debilitating. I knew I was gay and I was trying desperately to hide it from everyone.”
He added: “It was really dark and really scary. It was a continual physical and verbal assault. It took me everything to hold it together until I could get in my mom’s car and break down and cry. It was rough. There was this fear in the back of my mind that I was asking for it.”
McIver hopes that the song will inspire teens who are being bullied to speak out.