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Debby Ryan, 25, was a star on The Disney Channel at the same time as Demi Lovato, she was in The Suite Life on Deck from 2008 to 2011 while Demi was on Sonny with A Chance from 2009 to 2011 and the Camp Rock movies. That was almost ten years ago, although it doesn’t seem that long ago to me, and Demi and Debby were just teenagers then. In a new interview with People Live, Debby spoke about the pressure you’re under as a child star and how that kind of scrutiny isn’t easy to explain, even to people who’ve known you for years. I only saw the clip that’s on People’s site and it’s unclear what she’s responding to or if she was asked directly about Demi. It sounds like she was referring to her though. Here’s what she said.
I think before even being a Disney star I was a little girl… and that’s hard to be. I think having a pool party and… wrapping yourself up in a towel while everyone swims at 12 or 13 years old, that’s just personal.
Having [your] body change and then be on magazines… comparisons which [are] so toxic. It can really create a perfect storm of chaos. Forces you to really examine where you find your value, what you think of as pretty or interesting. If you’re bred in a world of chaos, I think sometimes the only way to feel comfortable is to recreate that chaos in your life, which is where a lot of us misstep. I certainly have. It’s a unique experience.
My friends who get it and who have known me since before everything still don’t fully experience always feeling like there [are] eyes on you. [It] can really feel like you are in a horror movie. That is a thing that is hard to communicate.
[From video on People]
I think Debby is trying to say that she feels an affinity with Demi. It sounded deep when she discussed trying to recreate chaos from your childhood. Of course that’s true but I’ve never heard it explained quite like that. Being a child star is something that you can’t even imagine unless you’ve lived it and can mess a person up in ways that we’ve seen end in tragedy. Thank goodness Demi is ok and is reportedly in rehab now.
Debby is promoting her starring role on Netflix’s Insatiable, which I’ve heard only bad things about. There are calls to pull it for being fat-shaming, and it’s getting bad reviews.
photos credit: Instagram and Getty
She is absolutely beautiful. Wow.
to each their own. she has a unique face, I’ll give her that. never heard of her though.
Never heard of her either just was thinking she was stunning.
I agree. She kind of reminds me of Michelle Phillips.
She has had ALOT done to her face since her Jessie days
It’s a pity as she just looks odd now
So why are we allowing children to still be actors? Why not set the law for acting age at18 or above?
so we’re not going to have any stories with parents actually parenting, or about kids and teens? kids are going to watch only cartoons?
Ugh, how hard would it be to say “I can’t speak for Demi, and I won’t speculate on her difficult situation to bring attention to me and my show.”
Yes, let’s hide it under a rug and never mention it again, it’s pointless to talk about mental health.
)sarcasm)
What the hell makes you think that way?
She’s lovely, I’ve never heard of her…I’m not a Disney watcher.
Two names: Michael Jackson and Judy Garland.
Both talented beyond imagination, both faced an awful end, both battled all their lives to escape from the pressure and the public’s scrutiny of their body.
Eh, her new show makes me cringe and is a hard pass from the previews for me. She is a beautiful teen in middle school, maybe a size 8, and she is bullied because heaven forbid teenage girls don’t look like Victoria secret models.
By some deus ex machina, she loses weight to a size zero for high school and now everyone thinks she is “hot” and she plots revenge on people who teased her.
(If she starves or even works out to lose weight, that would be a red flag for an eating disorder as teens need lots more calories than everyone else for building bone density)
But also, the takeaway of the show: if people bully you, it’s your fault for how you look. And the only way to make friends is change who you are, and via male and female validation of your “hotness.” Make friends with people who you can never really trust. And obsess about getting back at them.
Not a hot mess of a show at all! Not a recipe for mental health issues at all via vaporization of weight loss! Not a projection of society’s weird issues about changing teenage bodies at all! /sarcasm
I saw a documentary years ago called the “Hollywood Complex” which was about a bunch of child actors whose parents uprooted them from their lives and moved them to Hollywood so that they could try to get on a successful pilot and the “Complex” was the apartment building where they all lived…
It was illuminating…and heartbreaking….and for me…explained why so many child actors are so…damaged…because before the Hollywood machine can get their hands on them…they’ve ALREADY been worked over by their own parents…
I cannot, will not, ever understand how people can do this to their own child. My kids don’t owe me anything except to grow into kind, decent, self-sufficient adults, and even in that, it is my job to guide them. Parents who want to monetize their kids or live off of their talent are just…I have no words.
I know there are kids who are driven to perform, who love it and know from a very young age that this is their calling, and I know there are some show-business parents who advocate for their kids and make sure they are in a safe, enriching environment, but the vast majority of the kids in the show-business machine don’t have that working in their favor. Living your vicarious dreams through your children against their best interests is abusive and sad.
I would like to see the documentary you referenced, but I know I’ll be angry if I do. :/
I wish she would try some bangs. They’d go much better with her face.
I hope this is a…joke.