Expert Article

 Exploitation of Child Stars 

Most people dream of being big Hollywood stars. The money, the fame, the glamor. That’s all anyone could ever want right? While those things are attractive, they come at an expensive price. There is a great amount of pressure and exploitation that child stars face in the industry. These pressures lead to substance abuse, mental health issues, trauma, and more. There are countless actors and actresses who have come out expressing their struggles and concerns for the way they were treated as children. Let’s be honest, a lot of us have briefly read these stories and have thought to ourselves that their struggles are worth the extraordinary lives that they live. I know I have at least. Growing up, I wanted to be just like all the Disney and Nickelodeon stars. Little did I know what really goes on behind the cameras. 

In this paper, I aim to reveal the exploitation and abuse faced by child stars in Hollywood. Specifically, I will focus on three individuals: Shirley Temple, Demi Lovato, and Britney Spears. These are stars that I have grown up watching, who have had really hard times in the industry. I will talk about how the mistreatment of these stars affected them mentally and how they overcame it. Or if they ever did overcome it..I hope this paper shows the significance of this problem and how long it has been occurring for. Although I am aware there are a lot of bigger issues going on in our world right now, this is a topic I am very passionate and excited to write about.

Shirley Temple 

Unfortunately, exploitation and abuse of child stars has been going on for decades. Specifically, It has taken place in the film industry for years. In the early 1900s, curly-haired and dimple-cheeked child Shirley Temple appeared in many movies such as The Little Princess, Heidi, Bright Eyes, Poor Little Rich Girl, and many more. She was known for her acting, singing, and dancing. She quickly became one of the most iconic child stars in her time and was loved by many including myself. 

In 1988, Shirley Temple released her autobiography where she revealed that she was abused psychologically and sexually. She expressed that starting her film career at only four years old, there were phedophiles surrounding her who made sexual advances towards her. According to her autobiography, she was “regularly groped, threatened, and terrorized by men”(Newsner). In addition, she revealed that when she was on set and she misbehaved, she had a “punishment box” where she was forced to sit on a block of ice (Chirico). 

Temple’s film career was short-lived as she retired at the age of twenty two. Unlike many modern stars, she had a meltdown-free career. Although I am sure she was scarred from the many incidents she faced, she came out of acting with a positive outlook and was ready for the next stage in her life. After retiring from Hollywood, she began a career in politics and became a mother of three. Although she had a really tough childhood in the industry, she was successfully able to overcome her struggles and start a new chapter. 

Demi Lovato 

Demi Lovato began her acting career on a children’s television show ‘Barney & Friends’ at ten years old. She later became very successful on Disney Channel and even became the star of her own show ‘Sonny with a Chance’. Two seasons in, the show got canceled due to emotional and physical issues. This decision was very abrupt and it left her fans confused. 

It was soon revealed that Demi’s show got canceled due to her struggles with drugs and alcohol at only eighteen years old. She was sent to rehab with hopes of becoming sober again. In 2013, she was proudly sober and was ready to continue her career. Unfortunately, after eight years of sobriety she relapsed in 2018. She had a near-fatal drug overdose and was sent back to rehab. 

In a recent podcast interview, Demi made multiple allegations against Disney channel. She started off by explaining how overworked she was by Disney. She never had the chance to be a regular teen as she was always forced to work on projects. She also had an extremely controlling management team who oversaw everything she did. They even had control over her eating which she explained led to her eating disorders, “​I didn't have food in my hotel room like snacks in the minibar because they didn't want me to eat the snacks. They put furniture outside of my door so that I couldn't get out and sneak out and eat if I wanted to”(Randolph). 

After years of being controlled and told what to do, Demi Lovato is now free and completely sober. She expressed that the only thing she still struggles with to this day is her eating disorder and her relationship with food. She is currently focusing on her sobriety and working on her mental health. 

Britney Spears

Everyone knows who Britney Spears is.. She is often referred to as the “Princess of Pop”. She has sold over two hundred million records worldwide and has won countless awards. She has been in the public eye since she was only five years old and signed with Jive Records when she was fifteen. The pressures of being a celebrity and living a high-stress lifestyle from a young age, really took a toll on her. Her anxiety and stress of being in the public eye lead her to substance abuse.

In 2007, Britney had her infamous meltdown while dealing with a custody battle over her two sons. She was partying uncontrollably and even shaved her head. She was sent to rehab shortly afterwards. This meltdown caused Britney to enter a conservatorship with her father Jamie Spears in 2008. This meant he had control over Britney’s entire life. 

In 2021, Britney revealed in a court appearance that she was in an abusive conservatorship as she had no control over her life. She expressed that her conservatorship had damaging impacts on her mental health. She was extremely depressed and was crying everyday. After fourteen years, in November of 2021 Britney’s conservatorship was terminated (Tsioulcas). She is now in control of her life and is completely free of her father/the industry. After reading this article and learning about the flaws of this industry, I hope the next time you judge a celebrity for having a meltdown, you think of this. 

Works Cited

Chirico, Rob. “Though She Suffered Abuse, Shirley Temple's Story Is a Model of Child Star Resilience.” Ranker, Ranker, 6 Sept. 2022, https://www.ranker.com/list/tragic-shirley-temple-stories/rob-chirico. 

Newsner  October 18, 2018. “Shirley Temple Married Twice & Raised 3 Kids, Including Daughter Whom She Saved from Deadly ‘Heroin Hell.’” Newsner Stories EN, 11 Feb. 2022, https://en.stories.newsner.com/family/shirley-temple-was-the-worlds-biggest-child-star-but-had-to-suffer-years-of-tragic-abuse-for-it/. 

Randolph, Elizabeth. “Demi Lovato Will Discuss Disney ‘Brainwashing’ Its Child Stars in an Upcoming Project.” Distractify, Distractify, 25 Aug. 2022, https://www.distractify.com/p/demi-lovato-disney-allegations. 

Tsioulcas, Anastasia. “Britney Spears' Conservatorship Has Finally Ended.” NPR, NPR, 12 Nov. 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/11/12/1054860726/britney-spears-conservatorship-ended.