When calling out Disney for allegedly sexualizing young actresses, the Jughead depicter on 'Riverdale' says that child actors never turn out okay as 'fame is a trauma.'

• Apr 6, 2022

AceShowbiz - Cole Sprouse has spoken out about how Disney Channel treated the former female child stars. In a new interview, the Jughead depicter on "Riverdale" vowed to be "violently defensive" of the child stars who were "heavily sexualized."

During a conversation with The New York Times, published on Monday, April 4, the 29-year-old actor revealed, "The young women on the channel we were on [Disney Channel] were so heavily sexualized." He added that they were sexualized "from such an earlier age than my brother [Dylan Sprouse] and I that there's absolutely no way that we could compare our experiences."

"[I'm] violently defensive against people who mock some of the young women who were on the channel when I was younger," Cole pointed out. He went on reasoning, "Because I don't feel like it adequately comprehends the humanity of that experience and what it takes to recover."

"The Suite Life On Deck" alum added, "And every single person going through that trauma has a unique experience." He later noted, "When we talk about child stars going nuts, what we're not actually talking about is how fame is a trauma."

Cole also explained that he still sees "the same psychological effects" of child stardom in child actors' adult lives. "And, to be quite honest, as I have now gone through a second big round of this fame game as an adult, I've noticed the same psychological effects that fame yields upon a group of young adults as I did when I was a child," Cole told the outlet. "I just think people have an easier time hiding it when they're older."

Elsewhere in the interview, Cole said there's no way he would star in a "Suite Life" revival. Though he doesn't have anything against those who do sign up for reboots and revivals, he insisted that he doesn't want to do that himself. He also compared reviving "Suite Life" to "reheating a really good, fresh meal in the microwave."

Of the matter, Cole's fellow Disney Channel alum Alyson Stoner has also been vocal about being "sexualized," saying she faced sexual harassment, child labor law violations and developed eating disorders. Aside from Alyson, former Nickelodeon star Jennette McCurdy, who quit acting altogether after "upsetting" experiences as a child star, voiced similar concerns.