Since Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV started streaming for those with a Max subscription, tons of Hollywood actors who worked as kids on popular television shows have been asked to respond to the startling documentary. The latest to talk about the subject is Wednesday and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actress Jenna Ortega, who got her start on the Disney Channel.
Before Ortega became the Gen Z scream queen she is, her first significant main role was as the lead of Disney Channel’s Stuck In The Middle, which she was on from the ages of 13 to 16. When speaking to The New York Times, the actress shared that she didn’t watch the documentary herself, but she received a call from her mom after she viewed the series. In her words:
I think for her, it was more pain, because she had seen the way that other children maybe weren’t protected or weren’t as looked after. She watched over me like a hawk, so I think for her, it was more empathizing and wishing she somehow could have done something to help. She just called me saying she was so grateful that things were OK and that she was there to witness everything.
While Ortega’s mom didn’t necessarily resonate with the events of the series, she did have a deep emotional reaction as a parent who was likely afraid of some of the circumstances spoken about in the documentary. The series is about Nickelodeon workplace culture specifically during the 1990s and 2000s. It includes Drake & Josh’s Drake Bell alleging he was sexually abused by his dialogue coach and the reported misogyny in writer’s rooms.
Since the documentary was released, tons of actors who grew up on Nickelodeon and Disney children’s shows have reacted to the contents of it. Ariana Grande shared she was “glad” the conversation was happening as a result of the show, and Kenan Thompson echoed that sentiment with his own comments. (Both of them claim they did not see the same workplace abuse in their own experiences).
Ortega also said this about her parents protecting her on set:
Child acting is strange. I see why my parents felt so hesitant about it, because you’re putting a child in an adult workplace. I think if I had just stayed growing up in Coachella Valley, I would be a completely different person. I wouldn’t speak the way that I do or approach interactions the way that I do. It’s completely changed my way of thinking and going about life, and when I speak to other child actors, I can pick them out instantly because we all have that — it’s just very specific, like some secret little language or something that we all share.
Jenna Ortega has opened up about working for Disney Channel as a kid before, sharing the “crazy, crazy hours” and “difficulties on set” that led to cast therapy sessions. As she continued in the new interview:
Children aren’t supposed to be working like that. They are supposed to be climbing trees and drawing and going to school. Some of those kids’ parents don’t even take school seriously, so I feel really, really fortunate to have had parents who made sure that I hung out with friends, made sure that I went to public school and wouldn’t allow me to work on a job unless I had straight A’s and was prioritizing my sleep and my schoolwork.
On the other hand, Stuck in the Middle gave the actress the experience to go on to become the big movie and TV star she is today. Ortega said while there are times she regrets the path she’s chosen, she “wouldn’t change anything.” She loves that she’s so knowledgeable when she steps on a set at the age of 21 because of her many years on sets. Plus, Ortega just united with a fellow Disney Channel kid, Sabrina Carpenter, for her latest music video! So, there were pros to the experience, however, she also doesn't dismiss the cons.
You can catch Jenna Ortega next in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, arriving in theaters on September 6.
