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‘They called me a witch’: Winona Ryder reveals she was bullied at school after starring in ‘Beetlejuice’

Winona Ryder said she never had an 'icon status' at her school even after starring in movies like Beetlejuice

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: In the 1980s and 1990s, Winona Ryder served as the face of indie fashion. She was showing the public that it is absolutely fine to be different by taking up the most bizarre movie characters available at the moment. Before she reached the legal driving age, the Tim Burton starlet was starring in some of the biggest Hollywood movies.

Since her debut in the 1980s cult classic movie 'Beetlejuice,' Ryder's character, Lydia Deetz, has been many people's eccentric goth hero, but it turns out that Ryder got bullied because of the character. In an interview with Marie Claire UK, Ryder talked about her early years, revealing that as a teenager, she struggled to make friends in high school despite starring in several Hollywood movies.

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'It made things worse'

Over nearly 20 years, Ryder has had such a significant impact, but in school, she was far from having an "icon status." Ryder endured the difficulties of middle school, coping with insecurity and harassment, before she became a Golden Globe-winning actress. In a conversation with The New York Times, Ryder acknowledged that the bullies used to throw Cheetos at her. Ryder believed it was because she "had a crew cut" and "liked the Sex Pistols."

In high school, the young actress experienced continual bullying because of his boyish appearance and unconventional way of life. Ryder was still being pushed up against lockers and having food thrown at her despite appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. After appearing in 'Beetlejuice', the actress had high expectations that things at school would finally improve, but sadly, the suffering got much worse.

The 'Stranger Things' star revealed to Marie Claire UK in 2017 that she had been bullied by her peers amid the huge success of the 1988 movie 'Beetlejuice.' In fact, the movie gave the bullies even more excuses to call her a "witch." In a 2017 TIME interview, Ryder said, "I remember thinking, ‘Ooh, it’s, like, the number-one movie. This is going to make things great at school. But it made things worse. They called me a witch."

As a young actress, Ryder frequently appeared in movies set in high school. She is best known for portraying the beloved lead character Veronica Sawyer in the movie, 'Heathers.' Since then, she has played several other remarkable roles and was honored with a Golden Globe Award in 1994 for her performance in 'The Age of Innocence.'

After her shoplifting trial in 2002, Ryder returned to acting through the 2006 science fiction animation film, 'A Scanner Darkly', and went on to portray an aged, resentful ballerina in 2010's 'Black Swan'.

'Beetlejuice 2' is set to release in 2024

Tim Burton and Michael Keaton are working together once more to create the sequel of the cult classic 1988 film, 'Beetlejuice.' Recent photographs from the sets of 'Beetlejuice 2' show Ryder reprising her role as Lydia Deetz. While it may take some time before the public sees the first 'Beetlejuice 2' trailer, the set photographs shared on Twitter have given fans their first look at Ryder in Lydia Deetz's costume.

In the pictures, Ryder can be seen riding in a car and appearing quite similar to her old gothic self. Her hair is styled in a manner that can only be characterized as traditionally Burton-esque, as per ScreenRant.

Burton's 'Beetlejuice' became one of his most well-liked productions, and throughout the years, he has been working tirelessly on the sequel. Although a release date has not yet been set for the sequel, various reports indicate that the filming process would have begun in late 2022 or early 2023. We can anticipate a release date in 2024 if the production of the movie began in the final two months of 2022.