By Kana McNiff
For many kids born in the early 2000’s, shows like iCarly and Sam and Cat were all the rage. Since the popularity of these childrens shows, the ethics of casting young children on TV shows and movies has been debated. Some people believe that kids of young ages are unable to consent to being on television. Many people believe that young fame can put an unhealthy amount of pressure on children and can alter a person’s ability to function as an adult; especially because we’ve seen many child actors face issues with addiction and mental health as time progressed. With the new docuseries, Quiet On Set coming out, many people are outraged at the conditions that child actors are subjected to on set. Quiet On Set depicts the horrors that many staff and young actors faced while working on the sets of production company Nickelodeon. One of these young actors is Jennette McCurdy.
Jennette McCurdy starred in multiple Nickelodeon shows but her breakthrough role was as Sam Puckett on iCarly. Her role earned her 4 Nickelodeon Choice Awards over the years. However, her seemingly prosperous career was really a nightmare come to life. McCurdy released her memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died in 2022, recounting her various struggles with being a child actor, addiction, eating disorders, and her relationship with her controlling mother. McCurdy had never wanted to be a child actor, but was emotionally manipulated by her mother into doing whatever she pleased. Her mother would berate her appearance, deeming her as “not good enough” for television and would force her to dye her hair, whiten her teeth, and lose excessive amounts of weight as a pre-teen. As a result, she developed bulimia, anxiety, depression, and alcohol addiction.
While she never worked with Nickelodeon, Linsay Lohan had a very similar experience with addiction and substance abuse. Lindsay Lohan’s breakthrough role was on The Parent Trap, where she played the role of both twins in the movie. Other notable movies from her career were Mean Girls and Freaky Friday. However, as her fame grew, so did her problems with substance abuse. As a teen, the pressure of being a star drew her into the party scene which eventually led to addiction. She was arrested multiple times for drunk-driving and substance abuse which was followed by several court-mandated sessions in rehab. By 2012, Lohan had appeared in court twenty times, been to rehab five times, and been incarcerated six times. Her run-ins with the law turned many production agencies away from her, causing her to lose many roles. However, it seems that Lohan has turned her life around and is now starring in a few small movies and living a quiet life.
While the ethics of casting young kids on television is largely up for debate, one thing ‘s for sure: it’s important to protect young children from the dangers of our world, especially on television sets. Protection should be given to young actors through the means of supervision and shielding them from the media.
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