Iggy Azalea Says She Left Australia to Escape Bullying

It's safe to say Iggy Azalea didn't always feel like a pretty girl.

The rapper opened up about the origins of her love of hip-hop on Australia's Today this morning (August 19), and said that when she was a teenager, she was routinely mocked for her eccentric style. Ultimately, bullying was the catalyst to her move from Australia to the United States at 16.

Even support from family was in short-supply, she added.

"I got laughed at a lot. My mom was like: 'Why can't you just go to uni?' but [performing] is what I wanted to do," she shared. "I think I just thought, if I could go somewhere else, maybe they would think it was less funny than everyone around me."

And Iggy, whose real name is Amethyst Kelly, also recalled how she got her stage name, which hit pretty close to home.

"My dog that I had growing up was called Iggy, and I thought he was so awesome that when he passed away, I got a necklace made with his name on it and people would always ask me if that was my name," she said. "And when I was trying to choose a rap name, I automatically wanted that as my name because I already had the jewelry for it."

"Azalea," she added, is the street her mother grew up on. Wait a second...isn't this the porn star name formula?

Check out the full interview, and tell us if you're surprised Iggy faced such backlash so early in her career.

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