Harassment at school...sorta... help?

I have two old and lose friends who I talk to after school and both of them have recently had bully problems. Both aren't very attractive (though one used to have lots of boys liking her) but they both have lots of good friends. The formerly pretty one, who is also very short and skinny, has a group of maybe 3-5 "popular" girls who follow her around saying things like "i love your hair" and calling her name, even though she knows they're lying. Since I'm not in her class with them I can't do anything about it so I'm very frustrated since I happen to hate these girls as well because of their all around cruelty, and since their technically not insulting her, I can't just go up to them and punch them as much as I would love to. A similar thing is happening with my other friend when today, the most popular guy in school (I'm in 8th grd) forwarded some youtube vids of my friend around to the popular girls who now stare at her during class and make "i loved your vids" comments. continued...

When we and two others confronted the guy, he weakly denied it and left. Then the girls came over and said they apologized and hadn't meant to offend, and that they sincerely liked the videos, and that we were being unreasonable. I thought it was a load of bull, even though I accepted the apology, and they kept staring. Then school ended. One of our group suggested we flip them off but we just stared back.

The best thing to do is simply ignore these girls. I know that is a lot easier said than done, and its not always that easy (actually its never that easy), but it really is the best thing to do. Girls like these thrive on the pain of others, they must put down someone else (and giving false compliments then laughing behind someone back is putting someone down) in order to feel better about themselves. When someone not only ignores them but remains happy despite them, then they won't know what to do. At first they will make comments, and continue to be bitches, but after a time they will move on to someone else since they cant get the rise they are seeking.

Don't sink to their level by talking behind their backs, or starting a fight. Tell your friends this same thing and you will eventually not have to deal with them anymore.

As for the other friend who had the videos spread around school about her, well the same thing applies. The more you react the more people will keep it up. If she remains happy, and doesn't let them get to ther, eventually they will move on.

I know this wont make any of you feel better, and it sucks and makes you feel like they won. But honestly, its not the battle that matters, its the war. If you all remain happy with each other, and just ignore the mean people, then you will win the war.

LOVE THYSELF, YOU DESERVE IT.
and keep being a good friend.

That's hard to answer. If it really gets out of hand you may have to involve an adult or teacher. You can try talking to the girls, but it sounds like they're really stuck up. Tell the boy who's doing the video thing to stop. Kids at those ages rarely care about other people, so I don't think you'll be able to do much unless you get someone to back you up.

Not for nothing but sometimes the best thing to do is to avoid them