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WATCH: Hughie Maughan admits he is a victim of racism in emotional video

The reality star has experienced bullying because he is a traveller

Hughie Maughan has admitted that he is a victim of racism in an emotional video.

The 22-year-old made headlines after the second episode of RTE’s Dancing With The Stars when he was heavy-handed with fake tan and had a much darker appearance than his natural colour.

“You definitely couldn’t call me racist – I’ve been on the receiving end of racist remarks, ignorance, misunderstanding from non-travellers my entire life,” he said.

hughie rte

Victim: Hughie was accused of racism but has been a victim of racism himself | RTE

The Dublin native grew up with his two sisters and parents in a travellers’ halting site and was the only one in his family to finish school and complete the Leaving Cert.

“I remember in secondary school being called horrible, derogatory names like pikey or knacker, names like that,” he said in a video for Claire Byrne Live.

“Being 11 or 12 years old and getting 16 or 17 year old non-traveller boys and girls following you to the bathrooms and writing disgusting stuff about you on the doors – literally bullying you and making you terrified to the point, where so many boys and girls that aren’t travellers that I knew, [I] didn’t want to go back to school anymore.

“There have been so many moments in my life where I felt different or left out, felt not included. So many of my friends have so much capability but never had the ambition to go to university or to college.

“They used to say to me why would I go to do that when I won’t be able to get a top job because I’m a traveller, they won’t want me to it.”

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