Derek Hough recalls childhood bullies who held a gun to his head

“Dancing with the Stars” pro Derek Hough was seriously bullied as a child.

Hough recalled his darkest moments at the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Friday, where he received an award.

“[The bullies] would tie my ankles up with a very rough rope and hang me in a tree upside down, spit on me and call me names, even hold a gun to my head," he revealed, according to the New York Daily News.

He said he kept the abuse to himself, afraid to tell on tormentors and turned to dancing as a way to escape.

"It became my safe place, the place where I could grow and flourish and find those answers," he said. "I know now that the worst thing you can do is suffer in silence."

Hough told Entertainment Tonight that his family eventually moved to get him away from the bullies, who were neighbors of his.

"We ended up having to move because it got so bad,” he said. “But for me, it was one of those things where I 'overcame.' It was more when I got older and I found dance, and it gave me a purpose. It gave me a focus and a motivation."

The celebrity brother of Julianne Hough noted that social media plays a big role in bullying these days.

“Words and threats are just as painful as fists, especially with social media these days," he said.