Nia Long may be considered one of the most respected actresses in Hollywood, but there was once a time when the confidence she so effortlessly exudes, today, wasn't so easily applied.

In a story that dates back to her childhood, the Empire star recalled how a bag of plain M&Ms that her mother promised her motivated her to stand up to a bully.

In an interview with TV One's Uncensored, Long related the story, explaining that she was "teased a lot as a young girl."

"There was a little girl that lived next door," she said before grabbing a tissue to catch her tears. "[She] would chase me home and bully me, everyday, and her name was Carrie. I hope she's watching."

Her mother, who's also featured in the segment, added that as she grew tired of seeing her daughter in distress, she gave her the incentive of the sweet treat for standing up to Carrie.

"I say, 'Look, you can't come home crying, everyday, over this girl. You better beat her a*s,'" she said. "And that was not a good thing to tell my daughter, being a mother. That was not the way to do it, but that's what I told her. I'm just telling the truth."

The Best Man actress continued, explaining that one day after school, she had enough and built up the courage to stand up to Carrie after she tried to snatch her bike from her.

"We were riding our bikes and she basically tried to push me off of my bike and take my bike and say, like, 'I'm gonna ride your bike, now,'" she recalled. "And I said no. This is my bike and I'm not giving you my bike and we got into a fight — it was my first fight — and I whooped her a*s."

Once she got home and shared the story with her mom, she was met with congratulations and her promised sweet treat.

Watch the mother and daughter retell the memory in the clip, below: