Disney stars start as young preteens getting a big break in the acting world. Their characters are adored by millions of young viewers around the world, they often branch out to releasing music or furthering their acting career – but if they’re girls, there’s a catch. At seventeen, I’ve grown up with the female actors I used to watch on Disney: from Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens to Bella Thorne, Zendaya Coleman etc. Every now and again, a female former Disney actor is thrown into the news for having too many boyfriends, dressing for her age, sharing her beliefs on social media or (God forbid) drinking alcohol.
For some reason, it’s mainly the young women straying from their child-friendly, preteen roles that cause panic for families across the world.
The reality is, even years after they’ve moved on from Disney Channel, their old cookie-cutter reputation based on a character made up for a children’s television show keeps getting in the way.
Parents seemed disgusted by the free expression of Miley Cyrus in particular because of her clothing choices, songs, and dancing all formed a big LED sign saying she wouldn’t produce entertainment for their children anymore. But why should she? Her infamous MTV VMA performance with Robin Thicke in 2013 was over two years after the final episode of Hannah Montana aired on Disney, and yet she was shunned for her new expression of her sexuality. The issue is, children and parents are hanging onto little Miley Stewart from 2006, and not liking what they see from 21-year-old Cyrus.
So, why am I writing this? Because these stars need our help. As teenagers, we have seen these actors as their young characters, but we also understand first-hand what it’s like being a teenager in the digital world. So when people like Charlie Puth ‘expose’ Bella Thorne, and rumors of her private life are spreading like fire through the Twitter-sphere because she’s broken through her Disney mold, let’s stick up for a young woman growing up beyond the boundaries of Disney. I was disappointed to see #BellaThorneIsOverParty trending on Twitter with teenagers relishing in rumors about Thorne cheating on her boyfriend – many saying, “This is why I preferred Rocky Blue (Thorne’s costar Zendaya Coleman’s character on Disney Channel)”. Instead of spreading hate through the internet, we need to remind each other that this negativity stems from the drastic change shown between an actor and their child-character from 2013. That’s why we love it because this kind of malicious gossip from a maybe-boyfriend is so not what surrounded Cece Jones.
Whether it’s parents complaining that they can’t let their children listen to Demi Lovato or Selena Gomez’s music because it’s “all about relationships and sex” or mainstream media posting about “Disney Stars Gone Wild”, let’s try to stop the spread of negativity that emphasises their failure to keep in a mold they were bound to break. Ask yourself, how would you like it if everything you did from when you were twelve was blasted through the internet.
