Pop star Demi Lovato asks other former child stars a difficult question: Is the price of fame worth your childhood?
In “Child Star,” which premiered Tuesday on Hulu, Lovato interviews other celebrities who grew up in the spotlight about the highs and lows of fame at a young age. Drew Barrymore, Christina Ricci, Kenan Thompson, JoJo Siwa, Alyson Stoner and Raven-Symoné join Lovato to discuss how their early fame affected them as adults.
The film is the latest unscripted program to offer an inside look at the children’s entertainment industry, which has come under scrutiny and criticism from many quarters in the months since the release of “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.” The explosive docuseries delved deeply into allegations of a toxic environment on producer Dan Schneider’s hit Nickelodeon shows, and left many viewers feeling there needed to be more protections for children in the entertainment industry.
“Child Star” also promises an “intimate look” into the lives of child stars.” Here’s what the actors said about the impact of fame on them.
Lovato viewed her success as her “self-esteem”
The documentary is Lovato’s directorial debut. She co-directed with Nicola Marsh, known for her work on the Apple TV+ docuseries “Omnivore” and the Showtime docuseries “The 12th Victim.”
But Lovato, who began her career on “Barney & Friends,” also appears in front of the camera in large parts of the documentary, interviewing fellow actors and openly talking about her professional career.
As a teenager, Lovato rose to stardom in the Disney Channel film “Camp Rock” and starred in the network’s show “Sonny With a Chance.”
“I viewed my success as my self-worth,” Lovato said in the documentary. “I had a really hard time distinguishing the two, and I had a strong need for external validation.”
Lovato described her grueling schedule working at the Disney Channel and her experiences with burnout.
“Nobody really knew how to stop the machine,” she said. “The train just kept going. There were never any breaks.”
She said she shot “Camp Rock,” recorded her first album, toured, filmed the first season of “Sonny With a Chance,” filmed the movie “Princess Protection Program,” recorded a new album, toured again, shot “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam,” recorded another album and toured again without stopping.
She described distancing herself from some projects at times due to the difficult environment. She also described herself as “difficult” to work with and apologized to her former colleagues Stoner and Raven-Symoné for her behavior toward them on various projects.
The actors both expressed sympathy for Lovato, who they noted was also under a lot of pressure. Stoner said they felt like they were “walking on eggshells” around Lovato while filming “Camp Rock 2.” Raven-Symoné said she noticed Lovato’s “glassy look.”
“I didn’t mean it badly. I just thought something was going on,” said Raven-Symoné.
Lovato has made several documentaries over the years detailing her experiences with addiction, self-harm, mental health issues and the pressures of fame, including “Stay Strong” in 2012, “Simply Complicated” in 2017 and “Dancing With the Devil” in 2021.
Thompson says childhood fame is ‘not a normal life’
Thompson, who has been a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” since 2003, rose to fame on Nickelodeon, starring in several of the network’s popular shows and films in the 1990s, including “All That,” “Good Burger” and “Kenan & Kel.”
He said it is important for child actors and their families to understand the kind of life they are entering into.
“It’s not a normal life when someone in your family is famous,” Thompson said.
He said it was helpful to have a mentor who could help you navigate the experience. He said dealing with rejection was difficult at times, but it kept him humble.
Towards the end of his Nickelodeon days, Thompson said, a financial advisor had stolen his income. He discovered the theft when he was trying to buy a home and his advisor didn’t show up to help him close the deal.
“It’s crazy to go from rags to riches and back to rags again,” Thompson said.
Ricci describes her experience as a child as isolating
Ricci, who landed roles in films such as “The Addams Family” and “Casper” as a child, said acting was an escape from her broken life at home.
“For me, it was a haven of emotional safety,” Ricci said of his time on set.
Ricci, who stars in “Yellowjackets,” said she was fortunate to be surrounded by strong women early in her career, including Cher on the set of “Mermaids” in 1990.
She described child acting as an isolating experience because she didn’t feel like she could talk to other children about her work. She also said that the amount of work child actors get can depend on how “laid back” children and their parents seem.
“The thought of an agency … never even crossed my mind,” she said.
Ricci said she turned to drugs and alcohol as a teenager because she felt she needed substances to be happy.
“If you felt like you had absolutely no control, this is one of the few things you had control over,” she said.
Barrymore says she had trouble setting boundaries
Barrymore, who went to rehab for her addiction as a child, comes from a famous family of actors and said she was “born into the entertainment industry.” Her first job was a commercial when she was 11 months old.
“ET: The Extra-Terrestrial,” in which Barrymore played the lead role at age seven, was a “life-changing” experience, she said, praising director Steven Spielberg.
“He was also the first person I was embarrassed in front of when I was misbehaving or caught drinking,” said Barrymore, who now hosts her own talk show. “There was no authority in my life, so I was happy with any boundaries he set for me. I didn’t realize that until I was an adult. Oh, that’s how parents are supposed to make you feel.”
Barrymore said that as a young star she struggled with boundaries because child stars were expected to “open up to everything.”
“When you commodify yourself, it’s about validation, it makes you feel less worthy, you lose people and you gain people,” Barrymore said. “That’s a big mental gain that you have to keep intact to get through all of that.”
Stoner talks about problems with his self-esteem
Stoner rose to fame as a child dancer in Missy Elliott’s music video “Work It.” The former child star, who uses the pronouns “they” and “them,” went on to land various roles on the Disney Channel, including “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,” “Camp Rock” (alongside Lovato) and “Phineas and Ferb.”
Speaking to Lovato, Stoner said that one of the worst aspects of fame during her childhood was seeing edited and retouched pictures of her children in teen magazines, which affected her self-esteem.
“I didn’t know before that these things were wrong with me,” they said.
They said they were “afraid” of their appearance as teenagers and struggled with an eating disorder while touring Europe to promote “Camp Rock.”
“People around me have been taking money for years without me knowing about it,” Stoner said.
Stoner has been outspoken in the past about the effects of fame as a child. They created a podcast called “Dear Hollywood” which analyzes the effects of fame on childhood development.
Raven-Symoné says she felt a lot of pressure to support her family
Raven-Symoné said that when she was just three years old, her role on “The Cosby Show” made her aware of how she supported her family financially.
“I knew it was a job,” said Raven-Symoné, who started acting at 16 months old. “If you lose, you don’t make any money.”
She became one of the youngest black women to have a show named after her when she starred in “That’s So Raven” on the Disney Channel. She said she felt a lot of pressure in the role.
“Sometimes, though, parents’ dreams get mixed up with children’s,” she said. “And you get so caught up in it. Parents forget that children, young children, are performing for their parents. They are performing to get their parents’ love and affection.”
Siwa says her coming out has changed the perception of her
Siwa, the dancer, actress and singer who rose to fame as a teen phenomenon on “Dance Moms,” was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Her fame grew with the launch of her YouTube channel in early 2015.
She said it was strange that her likeness was used as a character in Nickelodeon shows such as “The J-Team” and “The JoJo & BowBow Show,” in which she played herself.
“It was almost strange to be produced as an animation,” Siwa said of the commercialization of her image as a character.
Siwa said Nickelodeon treated her differently when she came out as part of the LGBTQ community as a teenager.
“After I came out, everything changed,” she says. “The way they communicated with me changed, the way they worked with me changed, the way they developed my work changed.”
A Nickelodeon spokesperson said in an email statement: “We are not aware of the incident JoJo is referring to and she has certainly not been blacklisted by Nickelodeon. We have valued and supported JoJo throughout our incredibly successful partnership, which has included a JoJo Pride collection at a major national retailer. We continue to cheer her on and wish her nothing but the best.”
