The Plight of the Disney Star
The Plight of the Disney Star
By Alannah Dragonetti
When I heard 18-year-old Sonny With a Chance star, Demi Lovato, was entering a rehabilitation center to allegedly deal with an eating disorder and self-mutilation I felt sorry for her. However, I would be lying if I said I was shocked. My lack of shock was not because Demi Lovato’s struggles were public; in fact it seems that her camp was semi-successful in keeping them under wraps. I was not surprised because Demi Lovato is a Disney star. Unfortunately, we have seen this same story several times: Disney child stars becomes a household name only to have a downward spiral and shatter their squeaky clean image. This most famously happened to Britney Spears, former cast member of Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club, in 2008. Fortunately, Spears seems to be healthy now, but fellow former Disney star Lindsay Lohan hasn’t been so lucky. Lohan is currently serving her third stint in rehab for substance abuse. Shia LaBeouf, former star of the Disney channel show Even Stevens, has been arrested twice. What is it about Disney that causes so many of its stars to fall victim to the pitfalls of fame?
Although this fall is quite prevalent among Disney Stars, this is not an issue exclusive to them. Many former child stars, such as Drew Barrymore, Mary Kate Olsen, and Danny Bonaduce have gone down the wrong path. A former child star, Taylor Momsen, who has so far avoided arrest and rehab but still courts plenty of controversy, gave some insight into why child stars often turn to destructive behavior. She is quoted as saying, “My parents signed me up with Ford (modeling agency) at the age of two. No two-year-old wants to be working, but I had no choice. My whole life, I was in and out of school. I didn’t have friends – I was working constantly and I didn’t have a real life.”
Of course, not all child stars grow up to self-destruct. Entertainers like Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, and Hilary Duff came through the Disney factory unscathed. Still, it is sad that despite a multitude of high profile examples demonstrating the disastrous consequences of child stardom, many parents still drag their children from audition to audition in the hopes that they will be the next big thing, with a total disregard for how it will effect their child in the future.
By Alannah Dragonetti
When I heard 18-year-old Sonny With a Chance star, Demi Lovato, was entering a rehabilitation center to allegedly deal with an eating disorder and self-mutilation I felt sorry for her. However, I would be lying if I said I was shocked. My lack of shock was not because Demi Lovato’s struggles were public; in fact it seems that her camp was semi-successful in keeping them under wraps. I was not surprised because Demi Lovato is a Disney star. Unfortunately, we have seen this same story several times: Disney child stars becomes a household name only to have a downward spiral and shatter their squeaky clean image. This most famously happened to Britney Spears, former cast member of Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club, in 2008. Fortunately, Spears seems to be healthy now, but fellow former Disney star Lindsay Lohan hasn’t been so lucky. Lohan is currently serving her third stint in rehab for substance abuse. Shia LaBeouf, former star of the Disney channel show Even Stevens, has been arrested twice. What is it about Disney that causes so many of its stars to fall victim to the pitfalls of fame?
Although this fall is quite prevalent among Disney Stars, this is not an issue exclusive to them. Many former child stars, such as Drew Barrymore, Mary Kate Olsen, and Danny Bonaduce have gone down the wrong path. A former child star, Taylor Momsen, who has so far avoided arrest and rehab but still courts plenty of controversy, gave some insight into why child stars often turn to destructive behavior. She is quoted as saying, “My parents signed me up with Ford (modeling agency) at the age of two. No two-year-old wants to be working, but I had no choice. My whole life, I was in and out of school. I didn’t have friends – I was working constantly and I didn’t have a real life.”
Of course, not all child stars grow up to self-destruct. Entertainers like Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, and Hilary Duff came through the Disney factory unscathed. Still, it is sad that despite a multitude of high profile examples demonstrating the disastrous consequences of child stardom, many parents still drag their children from audition to audition in the hopes that they will be the next big thing, with a total disregard for how it will effect their child in the future.
posted by PAWS Web Radio at
9:12 AM
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