The transition for child actresses from “the magic of Disney” to flashing your “Britney” seems to happen more often and more quickly these days. And for girls in particular, that transition may be accelerated by the Disney Curse, which has taken many of our childhood pop leaders — including Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Christina Aguilera — and transformed them into PR nightmares.
Currently, Hannah Montana mania infects the worlds of almost every 8-year-old girl (along with closet adult fans). Is it only a matter of time before the teen idol is sent to rehab, shaves her head or starts to strategically scream orgasmic sounds in between her unimpressive lyrics? It really is inevitable that Miley Cyrus, along with other current starlets, are already showing the signs of succumbing to scandal and sluttiness that seems to follow childhood fame.
Let me begin with the laughable history of Spears. While I don’t like to condone the mass marketing of sex and menial talent, she is undoubtedly a staple of the mid-late ’90s pop explosion. Disney recognized the alluring Southern charm and American sweetheart within young Spears as she got her start alongside Justin Timberlake and Aguilera in the Mickey Mouse Club.
Fans then saw the unfortunate transition from “girl next door” to “girl working the corner.” Spears made a quick switch from the “I’m not a girl and not yet a woman” to the “Slave 4 U” persona, which left many prepubescent boys with substantial extracurricular activities.
Shortly following the de-virginizing-of-Spears period came the everlasting in-and-out of rehab phase, during which Malibu’s Promises Treatment Center became famous as the shelter for “stressed” and “exhausted” celebrities.
To be fair, the burden of being photographed and filmed 24 hours a day may push anyone over the limit, which raises a question: Does subjecting child stars to that kind of fame and media coverage pave the way for their future undoing? The evidence seems to say yes. Spears entered the Disney machine with a squeaky clean image and managed to exit said machine beating attacking a paparazzo with an umbrella while sporting a newly shaved head… enough said.
Lohan, famous for her appearance in the remake of Disney’s “The Parent Trap,“ currently bats for her own team with her on-again, off-again troubled relationship with Samantha Ronson. Following a restful period in rehab for substance abuse, Lohan struggled through “Herbie: Fully Loaded,” “Prairie Home Companion” and even stooped to a guest appearance on primetime’s “Ugly Betty.” What began as an innocent career with Disney inevitably went to hell post-puberty as the lines between child actress and porn star started to blur.
Aguilera jumped on the child slutification boat with her “dirty” image and brief flirtation with the name X-Tina. Really? Did she go from “Genie in a Bottle” to bottle-blonde, only to return to Disney in the Mulan “reflections” soundtrack? Yes, yes she did. Somehow, the male Disney child prodigies (Timberlake, Jonas Brothers) fared far better than their female counterparts and managed to only partially sell their souls to Hollywood.
Currently, tween idols Vanessa Hudgens, “Hannah Montana’s” Cyrus and “The Cheetah Girls'” Adrienne Bailon dominate the Disney A-list. As their fame accumulates and hormones fluctuate, is it only a matter of time before the proverbial time bomb explodes and they all are carted off to rehab? There are certainly indications the inevitable is slowly happening.
Perhaps Cyrus’ recent debut album “Breakout” is a precursor to her sexual revolution. As the title of her first independent album would suggest, this CD is her first work outside of the Hannah Montana brand name.
Vanity Fair’s April 2008 issue also featured a nearly naked 15-year-old Cyrus. Apparently, said photos were intended to be “artsy,” according to a statement made by the Disney princess. Disney failed to see the artistic validity in what turned out to be — some have argued — child pornography. Those of us who lived through Hurricane Spears and Hurricane Lohan know it probably won’t be long until a new scandal from Cyrus comes in the form of leaked X-rated material, clandestine love affairs or the ever-popular trip to Promises
Adrienne Bailon of “The Cheetah Girls” knows firsthand of the magical curse of Disney. Pandemonium ensued when risqu? photos of Disney’s Cheetah Girl made their way onto the Internet. Allegedly, the pictures were intended for her then boyfriend, Rob Kardashian (another teen celebrity famous for… being famous, and his sister Kim’s ample ASSets).
The more-than-compromising images were exposed after Bailon’s laptop was stolen from the airport. This incident is rumored to be the driving force behind Macy’s cancellation of “The Cheetah Girls” float from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2008.
The Internet-leaked, semi-nude photos of “High School Musical’s” Vanessa Hudgens add even more fuel to the anti-Disney fire as far as young actresses are concerned. Granted, we all have some unfortunate pictures floating around on the Internet, however, the intense microscope under which these stars are examined successfully pushes them over the edge.
Slander, extortion and pure gossip aside, the pressures of fame upon young, female Disney stars seem to slowly tear away from even the purest of intentions.
Christina Johnston is a sophomore intending to major in journalism. Got questions? E-mail her at [email protected].
