Content warnings for; Harassment, Sexual Harassment, Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse.

Transcription:

Hi. I'm Amy and I did research about child actors and the harassment they got from the press. 

I started my research thinking, not really having an opinion but kind of thinking that it was majority- or mainly female that got harassed by the press. Or sexually harassed within the media and the press.

After doing a lot of research within child actors, I found that it's, it is mainly females but a lot of boys tend to go through that same process. It kind of, it starts older with males. So like, for females it starts at around 11-12 years of age, when they start getting sexually harassed in the media. For males and young boys it starts at the age of 14.

 
I started my research by researching a load of different child actors. I did Jacob Tremblay. I can't pronounce that last name. Millie Bobbie-Brown, who's quite famous for Stranger Things. I then did, Jodie Sweetin who again, she became famous in the 90s for Full House. I then did Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. They're two different people who went through similar things because they were twins and did everything together within the public eye. They did everything together. And then I also did Daniel Radcliff who again was quite famous within the 2000s.

But what I found in my research was that um, the likes of Jacob he, his weight and height is plastered all over the internet so that you can, you could search him up and find out how much he weighs which is shocking because it's things like that that would cause eating disorders and you don't want a young child to, go through their teenage years having an eating disorder. So that, stuff like that shouldn't be plastered on the internet.

But then the likes of Daniel Radcliff, his parents were very good at making sure he didn't see, they were like quite protective, made sure they knew they knew what they were doing so he didn't get too exposed. But the stress for Daniel Radcliff of working in the industry as well as working on a major film set became too much. At the age of 14 and 15 he started with alcohol abuse. And so would quite often show up to set intoxicated with alcohol. Which for 14-15 year old, he shouldn't be undergoing that much stress. 

And then you have the likes of Millie Bobbie-Brown who, she became big within the Industry at the age of 13. But by the age of 15 she had received 3 sexual harassment letters from guys in their 50s. And children in the industry shouldn't be allowed to receive stuff like that.

 And Jodie Sweetin, she started on Full House at the age of 5, when it ended she was 14. And had nothing, didn't know life without being in a on-, didn't know life with out being on a set. So when it ended and she was 14, she battled substance abuse, drugs, alcohol, everything. Because she didn't know what to do. Which cost her 2 marriages and nearly her life, as well as nearly her child's life when she ended up in an accident because of it. 

Children shouldn't be allowed in those types of environments without the proper care around them. Whether that be. . .
It's hard because, a lot of them go into this to help with their parent's funding. Mary Kate and Ashley, I researched them and they went into the industry at 9 months old. At 9 months old you can't make those decisions, whether you want to be in the industry or not.

And the likes of Jacob who started acting at 4, again you can't make that choice at 4 years old. So, you should, it should be down to the adults in the industry and whether they accept children. 

And so, going through all the research that I found, I don't think kids should be allowed in major roles within the industry. And if they do, there should be a lot of support keeping them out of the press. Because, their weight, their height, it shouldn't be plastered on the internet. 

I did some research on Jacob and he's 14. No, sorry he's 12 and they were talking about whether he has a girlfriend. He's just a child, they shouldn't be talking about that sort of stuff but especially when they're 12. Especially considering at 12, you're going through all that, those stages in life, where you don't know how you feel and you're trying to come to terms with it all. It's, it's a lot harder at that age and they have to play it out in public eye as well as come to terms with it themselves.

So, I don't think, I think kids should be able to be in the media if they want. I don't think babies should but I think there should be a lot of support for children in the media to keep them out of the press.  And I also think that they're should be, a lot of I don't think there should be a lot of big roles for children. They should just have smaller roles, and really small roles. Or if they want to have children in films, they should use adults who are around 18, 19 that look a lot younger to play a child. They shouldn't have children in big roles. Especially if they're gonna, 'cause what they're putting out in the press, it's wrong. 

And as I said, some of the stuff in the press can cause eating disorders and body image problems, we don't want our kids growing up like that. But.

Thanks for listening to my research. So as conclusion? I basically think there should be more support for children in the industry as well as smaller roles.