"I just was so unapologetically who I am," he told The Breakdown.
Coming out as a teenager in Texas was far from easy, but Todrick Hall took it all in his stride.
"People don't bully you if you're not embarrassed of the thing that they're bullying you for, you know?" he told Inside Edition.
Hall, who's currently starring in "Waitress" alongside fellow YouTuber Colleen Ballinger, spoke about his journey from Texas to Broadway on this week's episode of The Breakdown.
He told host Luke Mones it was "difficult" growing up in the Lone Star State, but he refused to hide who he is.
"When people would be like, 'You're gay,' in high school, I'd be like, 'I am, and you're hot,' and then they would never mess with me again because they'd be like, 'Well, that wasn't fun. I didn't get the reaction from him I wanted,'" he said.
"I just was so unapologetically who I am, and even in high school, so it was not as difficult for me as it has been for some of the people that I have become close friends with, or some of the people who are fans of mine on my YouTube channel that I talk to every day."
Today, Lizzo also embodies this attitude, he said, and that's why people love her.
"No one can go up to her and be like, "You're fat. You're this. You're that,'" he said. " She's like, 'I know that I'm voluptuous. I know I'm bootylicious, and it's my favorite thing. I'm going to post a picture of myself naked on Instagram to show you how much I love it.'"
For more of Hall's interview — including a pie-themed mukbang in honor of his stint on "Waitress" — watch The Breakdown above.
He will play Ogie in the show through Sept. 15 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City.
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