Hollywood’s Veil is Fading

Veil is Fading

Growing up as kids in the early to late 2000s, there was only one other major decision that was monumental to our society, and that wasn’t choosing team Edward or Jacob. It was either declaring yourself as a Disney or Nickelodeon fiend; in many cases, we were both. I can speak for us all l when I say being on either of the two channels was every kid’s dream. Many of us begged our parents to take us to auditions to live out our childhood star fantasies like the ones on the big screen. I still hear my mom’s aggravated response to my pleas as the radio ads for casting calls blared on the speakers during every car ride to school.

We glorified those channels with everything in us, living vicariously through the stars on our screens. The constant daydreaming of Hollywood and how much better it would be than the 5th grade. How could life get any better than the parties, the glamor, and the fame that fell into these child stars’ laps? Our innocent minds would be reveling in the fact that these stars had the world at their feet, living without knowing the definition of stress. Little did we know how lucky we were never to face the dark underbelly of many of these networks. Fame has been a facade to many of our favorite child stars as they were inappropriately taken advantage of and overworked, causing them to struggle immensely in their adult lives. In recent times, with encouragement from the infamous #MeToo movement that took down wolves like Harvey Weinstein in 2017, countless child stars of popular TV shows we know and love are shedding light on the mistreatment they dealt with from production behind the scenes. Social media has provided a platform to expose truths of Hollywood’s biggest companies and directors, grounding tycoons who once believed they were out of reach. Stars and staff of both Disney and Nickelodeon have just now found the strength to reveal the real monsters hiding behind these vast corporations, spreading awareness of these predators hiding in plain sight.

This year, many of our favorite stars came out to talk about the issues of exploitation they faced as children that had stifled them through adulthood. Demi Lovato, 30, just opened up about the detrimental toll her work as a Disney child star had on her livelihood. The singer detailed her awful treatment during a conversation shared in an interview with “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper. During this episode, Lovato revealed the intense schedule during her time with Disney that caused her to call her mother crying out of exhaustion. “What people don’t know is how much work we had to do,” the singer recalled. “Every year, I filmed a season of a TV show, went on tour, made an album, and shot a movie, and I did that all for like three years.”

Lovato was constantly threatened with replacement. She had to go along with the brainwashing the company relayed. As the primary breadwinner for her entire family, she feared losing it all. Her management also became controlling what she ate at only 17. There were several times her hotel room would be barricaded just to limit her access to food. As someone who had previously dealt with an eating disorder as a small child, the micromanagement only exacerbated Lovato’s symptoms. Like many child stars, the extreme workload put a lot of pressure on her to keep a perfect image as a role model, causing her to become addicted to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. Disney stars faced exploitation through manipulation and fear of being let go.

Hearing this saddens me as the well-deserved downfall of Disney has yet to come. Lovato plans on gathering more of her Disney coworkers to share their testimonies for a documentary.

In addition, Nickelodeon only seems to be following the same fate as its counterpart. In a recent Insider report, countless former employees ranging from female writers to child stars addressed show writer Dan Schnieder’s tainted legacy. He was fired in 2018 following an investigation that found he had verbally abused colleagues. Schnieder had been responsible for creating hit shows like The Amanda Show, Drake and Josh, Victorious, Zoey 101, and the beloved iCarly. His creations turned Nickelodeon into a multi-billion dollar network. However, Schnieder allegedly hired teenage girls rather than female writers on his shows. Jenny Kilgen, one of the only two female writers on The Amanda Show, accused the production company of gender discrimination, citing frequent requests by Schnieder for “massages.” Though not explicitly named in her 2000 lawsuit, she explained in a letter all the embarrassing things he would come to her to do for money. The case settlement was an undisclosed amount.

However, the abuse was not just behind the scenes. Countless allegations against his toxic workplace behavior shed light on his set directives for teenage girls to be overtly sexual for the “sake of comedy.” Alexa Nikolas, who played Nicole on Zoey 101, claimed Schnieder encouraged filming a “goo” scene involving 13-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears to mirror a pornographic money shot. “They were putting stuff on her face to make it look a certain way.” Nikolas faced isolation during filming because she didn’t want to participate in many of the sick scenes Schnieder implemented. Victorious actress Danielle Monet added that her outfits were nowhere near age-appropriate. She stated she would not wear most of that attire even as an adult in the present time. “Do I wish certain things didn’t have to be so sexualized?” Monet asked. “Yeah, a hundred percent.” Monet faced punishment after expressing discomfort over filming a scene where a fictional guidance counselor pumped lotion on her face. This resulted in her having fewer scenes in the show than her fellow cast members.

There seemed to be a pattern of blackballing stars who spoke up about this exploitation. But it would only continue and become even more disturbing with Schnieder’s creation of the web series “The Slap” for exclusive character videos linked to the show Victorious in 2010. One part of the website was called “Cat’s Random Thoughts,” showing a young Ariana Grande character self-taping mini-episodes from her bedroom. Schnieder wrote and directed each of these episodes. Grande, who was only 16 then, was shown sucking her toe, trying to “milk a potato,” and pouring water all over herself while on a bed, saying, “I’m soaking wet.” Even as an 11-year-old girl, I would not watch “The Slap” simply because I thought it was so weird. The fact that each of Schnieder’s scripts had been read thoroughly and approved makes me sick to my stomach. If even as a child, I found this off-putting, it makes you question the actual audience half of this stuff was directed to. Much of this disturbing content was viewed in compilations commenting on the inappropriate scenes, racking in over 11 million views on YouTube and across social media. That definitely made me realize I wasn’t the only one creeped out.

More recently, actress Jenette McCurdy alleged in her memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died that a Nickelodeon creator would frequently supply children with alcohol and request massages on set. She was even offered $300,000 worth of hush money to not come forward about the abuse, which she declined. These claims were painfully similar to the decades’ worth of allegations made against Schnieder. Most of these stars’ stories have been boosted by the resurfacing of footage, lawsuits, and allegations spread across social media.

Many of us argue over social networks’ impact on society. However, they have helped bring communities of people together while also holding evil people accountable for their actions. Child exploitation is a sickly common issue in Hollywood. Many of those affected are now gaining the confidence to speak up, knowing there are millions of people supporting them. However, the problem of child exploitation in Hollywood remains dangerously prevalent. It is essential to evade victim blaming and advocate for the safety of child actors. With this in mind, companies and producers will begin facing exposure to repercussions that people in privileged positions have usually been able to successfully avoid. This is only the beginning of the end, where all the rotten eggs in show business will soon be cast out of the basket.