Cole Sprouse Comes to the Defence of the Young Women of Disney

"Riverdale" star Cole Sprouse opened up about the damaging experiences that come with being a child star — particularly for young women — in an all-new interview with "The New York Times". Sprouse has been acting since the age of 6, with one of his first solo roles being his cameo on "Friends" as the son of Ross Gellar. He later joined the cast of the Disney Channel series "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody", followed by seven series of "Riverdale". His latest release is the HBO Max rom-com "Moonshot", alongside "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" star Lana Condor.

In response to a question about child stars either "spiralling out of control" or "coming out OK", Sprouse explains that "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 sexualised from such an earlier age than my brother and I that there's absolutely no way that we could compare our experiences. Every single person going through that trauma has a unique experience."

Looking back at his career, and the careers of his costars, Sprouse says that "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."