Former child actor Cole Sprouse shared his experience with The New York Times on Monday (April 4th), speaking candidly on what it means to be a childhood star and highlighting how it’s different for “young women.”
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody actor said, “My brother and I used to get quite a bit of, 'Oh, you made it out! Oh, you're unscathed!' No. The young women on the channel we were on Disney Channel were so heavily sexualized from such an earlier age than my brother and I that there's absolutely no way that we could compare our experiences. And every single person going through that trauma has a unique experience.”
Sprouse continued, “When we talk about child stars going nuts, what we're not actually talking about is how fame is a trauma. So I'm violently defensive against people who mock some of the young women who were on the channel when I was younger because I don't feel like it adequately comprehends the humanity of that experience and what it takes to recover.”