I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea
1–10 of 367 posts
Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea
#2See also:
I’m Glad My Mom Died, by child actor Jennette McCurdy
Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea
#3I’m happy for Wil that he got the louder voice when his parents gaslighted and bullied him, and lied about it, and that he didn’t end his life as a teenager.
It seems to me that the backstory ends here. Maybe releasing an autobiographical sequel here won’t make his mom turn around, but at least he didn’t crack. Kudos.
Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea
#4Wil was an early user and support of reddit, and I got a chance to talk to him a few times. He's a cool, humble, and generous guy.
Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea
#5It feels obvious now that kids should not be on tv at all, by the same logic that they can't consent to sex. They can't consent to the huge ramifications of public exposure.
Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea
#6Now think how many children suffered the same fate, but we’ll never hear about it because they did not become famous.
Reminds me of “dance moms” or “cheer moms”, “football dads”, etc.
If you’re a parent, remember not to live your unfulfilled dreams through your children.
Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea
#7I really wouldn't be surprised if 30/40/50 years from now "child stars" will seem as absurd and barbaric as child labor in general does today. It just seems so terrible and exploitative in so many cases.
Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea
#8Wow Will was such a part of my childhood watching Star Trek. Obviously, he didn't appear often but he was memorable simply because there were so few people as young as him on the show.
Sad to hear this all around. This also brought back memories of me being required to play piano growing up. I hated piano, performing (recitals), playing in general. I was terrrribbleee (still am) and was put up in lessons for 12 years. I fought tooth and nail as I got older and eventually was so bad my parents stopped at 16.
Music is a very "asian" or "chinese" thing to put your child through. As well as being good academically. This part of my life was a sore spot, but not even close Will's situation.
As I have young children of my own today, I'm faced with these questions. What is a healthy amount of pushing vs too much? I don't need my kid to be the best at anything - I just don't want them to be lost/dead-in-the-water or unable to fend for themselves.
Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea
#9Aside: The new season of Stranger Things starts tomorrow.
Re: I was forced to be a child star. It was never my dream or my idea
#10Wow Will was such a part of my childhood watching Star Trek. Obviously, he didn't appear often but he was memorable simply because there were so few people as young as him on the show. Sad to hear this all around. This also brought back memories of me being required to play piano growing up. I hated piano, performing (recitals), playing in general. I was terrrribbleee (still am) and was put up in lessons for 12 years…
If you don't know that part of Wil, yet: https://wilwheaton.net/2012/09/depression-lies/ is a very poignant blog post on depression.
It's reinforced by a mirror blog post, written by his wife: https://www.annewheaton.com/the-other-side-of-depression/