“The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices, it’s disturbing.”
Growing up in the spotlight can be brutal for young stars. Not only do they face criticism from their peers but they are often also the subject of scrutiny from the media and the public. Many of these Hollywood newcomers face cruel comments from keyboard warriors on a daily basis about everything from their weight to their hair color — all shared by adults who should know better. While some of these kids and teens found ways to personally cope with the criticism, others decided the best way was to clap back, calling out their bullies.
Read on to find out what these stars had to say…
Millie Bobby Brown
Millie Bobby Brown, who recently turned 21, has faced a lot of criticism about her appearance through the years. As of late, she’s been at the center of online criticism from followers who believe she looks much older than her actual age, especially with her new blonde hair. Millie took to Instagram to call out the critics — as well as journalists who made fun of her appearance, calling them bullies.
“I started in this industry when I was 10 years old. I grew up in front of the world, and for some reason, people can’t seem to grow with me. Instead, they act like I’m supposed to stay frozen in time, like I should still look the way I did on Stranger Things Season 1. And because I don’t, I’m now a target,” Millie captioned a video on Instagram.
She continued, “The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices, it’s disturbing…We always talk about supporting and uplifting young women, but when the time comes, it seems easier to tear them down for clicks. Disillusioned people can’t handle seeing a girl become a woman on her terms, not theirs. I refuse to apologize for growing up. I refuse to make myself smaller to fit the unrealistic expectations of people who can’t handle seeing a girl become a woman. I will not be shamed for how I look, how I dress, or how I present myself.”
Raven-Symoné
Raven-Symoné was just a little girl when she began her career in the entertainment industry and by the time she was seven, she was already being shamed about her body. Looking back, Raven says there was a moment when she went to eat a bagel on the set of The Cosby Show and was told she was going to “get fat.”
As she got older, she was faced with even more pressure to change her appearance and was told that she wouldn’t be successful if she couldn’t lose weight. She went as far as having two breast reductions and liposuction.
“I had my first breast reduction at 15. I went from a triple D all the way down to a B…At the same time I was like, ‘If you’re gonna take my boobs out, I want a lipo,’” Raven shared on her Tea Time with Raven & Miranda podcast, noting that “someone said I needed to do it in order to get a show.”
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Dylan Sprouse
When Dylan Sprouse was a teenager starring on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, he faced criticism about his appearance from a Disney Channel executive. His TV-mom Kim Rhodes recalled the exec had screamed that there needed to be “no more junk food” on set until Dylan looked like his twin brother, Cole.
“Dylan and Cole had different body types. And in front of everyone, Dylan was body-shamed,” she said on Christy Carlson Romano’s Vulnerable podcast, admitting that she called out the unnamed man. “I was like, ‘You do not have the right to say that to a child. You do not have the right to be writing for children if that is your attitude. Never again do you speak like that. Never.’”
Madison De La Garza
Demi Lovato’s younger sister, Madison De La Garza, was just a little girl when she appeared on Desperate Housewives. Unfortunately, even though she was so young, her appearance and weight were constantly criticised by cyberbullies, which she says was “shocking.”
“A lot of people came at it in a way that they were quote-unquote ‘concerned for my health.’ I personally believe that that’s just not true. That it was a cover-up so that they could just judge a six-year-old,” Madison said on the Heart of the Matter podcast.
She continued, “They said things like they wanted me to die because of what I looked [like]. It was just horrible, like, ‘ugly fat cow,’ and ‘I hope you get cancer and die because you’re so fat.’ Just horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible things and this was when I was 6, 7, 8 years old. Reading comments like that definitely affected my mental health and ultimately played into me developing an eating disorder at a very young age.”
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Ariel Winter
Ariel Winter was preteen when she joined the cast of Modern Family and was thrust into the spotlight. As she grew up and her body changed, online trolls didn’t hesitate to make negative comments — which she says truly impacted her self esteem. She says she spent years trying to change herself in the hopes it would stop the commenters.
“I’m incredibly grateful that I have this platform, I really am. But it was also hard at first, when I wasn’t really speaking out about things I believed in, when I was kind of just starting in the public eye, and I was really young, probably 11 or 12 that I started gaining recognition in that way, and having people start commenting on everything about me,” Ariel told Good Morning America.
She continued, “I was a developed younger person…They would see me, and even though I was a child, they’d talk about me and my body like I was an adult — or, you know, shame me for this or shame me for that — and it was really difficult.”
Sophie Turner
Sophie Turner grew up in front of the camera while starring on Game of Thrones and many viewers had negative things to say about how her appearance changed as she got older. She says it truly began affecting her mental health when she was about 17.
“I think it only went downhill when I started to hit puberty at like 17 and my metabolism was slowing down massively, I was gaining weight and then there was the social media scrutiny,” she said on Dr. Phil’s Phil In the Blanks podcast.
She continued, “You see ten great comments and you ignore them but one negative comment and it just throws you off…People used to write, ‘Damn Sansa gained 10 pounds’ or ‘Sansa needs to lose 10 pounds.’ It was just a lot of weight comments. Or I would have spotty skin because I was a teenager, and that’s normal. I used to get a lot of comments about my skin, my weight, and how I wasn’t a good actress…I would just believe it. I would say, ‘Yeah I am spotty. I am fat. I am a bad actress.’ I just believed it.”
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Lonnie Chavis
While appearing on This Is Us as a young actor, Lonnie Chavis received many comments about the gap in his teeth. In response, he took to Instagram to call out the critics, reminding them that those kinds of comments could sometimes push people over the edge.
“To all the trolls who have been trolling in my comments, talking about my gap, I could get my gap fixed. Braces can fix this, but like, can you fix your heart, though?” he wrote in a now-deleted post. “There are kids out there killing themselves just because of y’all hating and trolling and doing just crazy stuff. It hurts people. People kill themselves, and you’re the one who’s making them do it. Fix your heart, though. For real.”
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish rose to fame when she was just a young teen and has faced an overwhelming amount of public commentary about her body. Many online commenters have offered their unwanted opinions on everything from what Billie wears to her body to the color of her hair.
“Dude, I don’t even know. It’s tough, man,” she told British Vogue. “Honestly, nobody can say anything about my body that I don’t have a stronger opinion about. I also think that if I was younger, like if the internet talked about me the way they do now when I was like 11, I don’t think I would be able to exist, to be honest.”
She continued, “I like myself more than I used to, and I’m more interested in how I feel than how they feel. But then also that might be a load of bulls— because it still hurts my feelings like a son of a bitch. But it’s really hard, you know? I’ve had a rough time, TBH, and I’m still figuring it out. But it’s definitely a weird life; I’ll say that.”
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Zayn Malik
When Zayn Malik was just a teenager in One Direction, he was on the receiving end of aggressive online comments that said “nasty things” about his appearance and even compared him to a terrorist. While he was able to shrug it off, he says it began to affect him when the comments were directed toward his family.
“You can say whatever you want about me, I’m not really bothered. But when it starts to upset people I care about or I hear about it from my mum, then that’s a problem. I thought we’d moved forward. If that was said to me on the street or if someone said it to me to my face or whatever then something could be done about it,” Zayn told The Sun.
Madison Beer
Madison Beer was so young when she was discovered by Justin Bieber and began releasing music. While growing up in the spotlight, she’s faced a lot of aggressive harassment online. While she says she understands it comes with the territory, she believes it shouldn’t have to be that way.
“I wake up and have been told to kill myself like 30 times already; it’s crazy! It’s definitely what comes with it, and a lot of people say, ‘Yeah, but this is what you signed up for.’ I think that’s such a shame to say. It shouldn’t come along with me making music and following my dreams. It’s upsetting those two go hand-in-hand now because of social media,” she said on the Z100 Morning Show.
