It’s true, not everything that glitters is gold

BY SYDNEE WALCOTT

As a kid, I wanted to be a successful child star, but learning about the toxic environment that a handful of child stars have endured made me think otherwise.

I started to develop an interest in creativity from a young age, and as I got a bit older, I soon developed a passion for acting, and told my parents that I wanted to be on TV.

The passion for acting came out of the blue, as I would see well-known child stars on my favourite shows just acting away. This is what inspired me to want to be in the industry.

I didn’t get to achieve my goal in becoming a child star, and I didn’t put too much effort into working towards achieving that goal. However, during my time in high school is when I began to put effort into this goal; I wanted to become a well-known actress as an adult.

I took on drama courses in high school, went on to take part in the Sears Drama Festival, and I had even got accepted into my dream acting program for college.

Unfortunately, my time in the acting program would be cut short after only one semester.

I was crushed by this and had difficulty with figuring out where to go from there.

I did manage to take some acting classes outside of school and felt as if I found a place of belonging, but my passion changed when I started a journalism program during the fall of 2017.

Not only did the program give me hope and make me realize my potential as a journalist, but also during that time period, I began to open my eyes to the toxic side of being a child star, and the toxic environment of Hollywood.

Around the rise of the #MeToo movement was when I began to understand the dark side of Hollywood as people came forward with allegations of sexual assault and harassment against well-known: directors, actors, singers, comedians and the list continues.

The release of Jeanette McCurdy’s book, “I’m Glad my Mom Died,” revealed what some child stars had to endure, such as having a parent trying to live their life through their child, which can lead to them being robbed of their own childhood, and being offered hush money to keep quiet about the trauma experienced.

Another former child star, Alexa Nikolas, also experienced trauma during her time with Nickelodeon. Her co-stars were bullying her on set for the show, Zoey 101, and she felt unsafe when around the show’s creator, Dan Schneider.

Learning of this toxic behaviour is what made me realize how valuable childhood is and that fame is not as great as it may seem.