On Oct. 17, "Dancing with the Stars" professional dancer Derek Hough will be receive the Inspiration Award at the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network's Respect Awards for his fighting against bullying.

For Hough, being honored by GLSEN is an "amazing" and "massive" privilege.

"It's incredibly fulfilling because it's one of those things where you feel strange accepting an award when it's something personally driven, especially when you're still working on yourself and striving to be better. But I'm very, very honored," he told Variety.

Hough experienced bullying as a child.

"We associate bullying with a kid in a playground being picked on, but it's so much broader than that," he said.

The dancer's fight against bullying has even carried over to his "Dancing with the Stars" work. On Oct. 6, he and celebrity partner Bethany Mota did a routine about bullying to a live performance of Colbie Caillat's "Try." Mota also reportedly was a victim of bullying before reaching YouTube fame.

"It's really important to stress that, yes, don't listen to the negativity, but also don't rely on the good things," Hough said. "Accept them and enjoy them but don't rely on them to make yourself feel good."

Still, the dancer admits to having been a bully himself in the past.

"We're all guilty of being a bully at some point," he explained. "Growing up in the dance world and having to be a perfectionist, it suddenly becomes acceptable to behave a certain way, because it's 'for the art,' and the truth is, it's not."

In addition, Hough has brought his views on bullying to the bookstore with his new memoir "Taking the Lead: Lessons From Life in Motion." In the book, he gives readers "shortcuts" for fighting bullying and building confidence.

"... it's amazing to hear the feedback and hear how it's affected their life in some way, even if it's just for that night or a moment," Hough shared.

Julia Roberts and Danny Moder are also set to receive Humanitarian Awards, and Robert Greenblatt, NBC Entertainment chairman, will receive the Chairman's Award at Friday's Respect Awards.

---

Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

Related