Bella Thorne opens up about being sexualized as a Disney Channel child star. Thorne first broke into acting at age 6, when she appeared briefly in the 2003 film Stuck on You. However, it wasn't until 2010 that she gained prominence when she was cast as CeCe Jones in the Disney Channel series Shake It Up at age 13. Though the series was canceled after season 3, Thorne would continue a Disney career by appearing in various shows. In recent years however, Thorne has left Disney behind, finding new success in projects like the musical drama series Paradise City. Thorne has also dabbled in adult entertainment with her directorial debut Her & Him in 2019.
In an interview with the podcast High Low with EmRata, Thorne details multiple instances in which she was heavily sexualized as a child star. One involved a director who thought she was behaving inappropriately, while the other pertained to Thorne's time on Shake It Up. Specifically, it was an instance where the actor was nearly fired over her clothing. Read Thorne's comments below:
"I had a director give me feedback once and I was 10. The casting director calls my agent and the agent calls my mom, and they're like, 'So she's not moving forward because the director felt like she was flirting with him and it made him really uncomfortable. What the f--- are you talking about, man?! I don't give a f--- what I said! I don't care if I said, 'Eat my p---y right now'! [I was] 10 years old. Why, why, would you ever think that?"
"I almost got fired off the Disney Channel 'cause I was 14, and I wore a two-piece on the beach. This stylist that I was hanging out with put this chain on me. It's like a body chain? I don't know! I don't care. There was a fan — they got a photo of me on the beach, I almost got fired. It was all over the media — it was literally viral in that time. And it was ‘How dare this little girl do this. This is so disgusting. They were like, ‘Hey, we’re getting a lot of heat for this. Everyone’s getting heat for this because you’re in a bikini on a beach, so she needs to make sure she goes out in boy shorts and a loose t-shirt next time she’s at the beach.'”
Disney & Nickelodeon's History of Questionable Conduct with Child Actors
Though Thorne's recounting of her experiences as a young actor are disturbing, she is far from the first child star to have such stories. Earlier in 2022, iCarly star Jennette McCurdy released her now best-selling memoir entitled I'm Glad My Mom Died, which details a similar struggle while working as a kid at Nickelodeon. McCurdy recalls a time when she was asked to try on a bikini at a wardrobe fitting for iCarly to appease series creator Dan Schneider, which made the young actress incredibly uncomfortable. Of the experience, McCurdy wrote, "I don't want to look sexual. I want to look like a child." McCurdy's openness regarding her experiences has been largely praised by the industry and fans, and it has spurred others to come forward.
In August, Zoey 101 star Alexa Nikolas protested in front of Nickelodeon Studios in the wake of McCurdy's book release, holding a sign that said, "Nickelodeon didn't protect me." Other signs at the protest read, "How many NDAs?," "How many children?," and "Protect children, not predators." The signs also included the names of several Nickelodeon creators either accused of or convicted for being child predators, including Schneider, Fred Savage, Ezel Channel, and Brian Peck. Other Disney Channel stars have also come forward regarding their treatment as child actors, including Miley Cyrus, who said working on Hannah Montana at age 11 gave her anxiety attacks.
Working as a child actor is no doubt an incredibly difficult thing, and many major stars have begun to come out and say that their respective studios didn't protect them as they should have. Not only have Disney and Nickelodeon actors been subject to abuse from within their studios, but they have also dealt with heavy sexualization from the public, who often forget that child actors are exactly that - children. Thorne's experiences as a child actor are harrowing, and while difficult for her to recount, hearing her stories are important in holding major networks like Disney Channel accountable for their actions.
Source: High Low with EmRata