'I remember thinking, don’t cry' - James Patrice on bullying and resilience when growing up

Broadcaster and social media star James Patrice has spoken candidly about the bullying he endured growing up, and how performance and resilience helped him to navigate those difficult years.

Speaking to Doireann Garrihy on her 'The Laughs of Your Life' podcast, Patrice reflected on his school days, describing how taunts about his sexuality started at an early age before he even had the chance to understand it himself.

“It started off with the basics, you’re a girl, you’re gay. Then the word beginning with F that I won’t even repeat. Honestly, it was relentless and went on every single day,” he said. “The weird thing is, you don’t know if you’re gay yourself. You have these feelings, but you’re in no position to confront them. And yet you’re being told they’re wrong.”

Patrice recalled the isolation he felt during free periods in school, when the absence of a supervising teacher left him vulnerable. One memory that stayed with him was working on an art project when classmates began targeting him. “It was the longest 40 minutes of my life. I remember thinking, don’t cry, don’t cry,”.

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Despite the bullying, the presenter said drama and performance became his lifeline. “Drama saves people,” he reflected. “When you’re on stage, you’re untouchable. It’s a safe space where you can do whatever you want, and no one can take that away from you.”

James also praised the openness of today’s Ireland, saying: “Nowadays it’s different. You could write a thesis on how much the tolerance levels have improved. People are way more conversational about it. Schools have LGBT weeks, whereas back then you didn’t talk about it, you just got on with it.”

As he grew older, Patrice developed a confidence that even his bullies couldn’t break. By sixth year, he was performing in drag at the school graduation, where he finally felt a shift in how others saw him. “One lad came up to me afterwards and said, ‘Some balls you have getting up there doing that., fair play to ya ’ For the first time, I thought, wow, I’m being seen as an equal, not that I would ever want to be equal with any of them , but finally there is a bit of respect there".

Looking back, Patrice said the hardships of those years shaped him. “It made me very resilient. It made me really appreciate performance and just owning who you are, not being afraid of what anyone else thinks, because they don’t matter.”

The episode, which also touched on his close bond with his family, highlighted the strength of character that has made Patrice one of Ireland’s most loved entertainers.