Hollywood Demons Recap for Child Stars Gone Wild
Hollywood Demons Recap for Child Stars Gone Wild
Hollywood Demons Child Stars Gone Wild gets into the nitty gritty of what some of Hollywood’s stars faced as youngsters and where they are today.
Dr. Drew talks about Maitland Ward, who is famous for Boy Meets World and now in the adult film industry. Maitland herself talks about growing up in a very religious household and how she felt the need to suppress herself as she got older.
When she got into acting, it allowed her to play characters that were different from her ‘good girl’ life. However, her parents were worried about the dangers of her going into the business.
Dana Plato was a good example of a child star who faced struggles. As Kimberly on Diff’rent Strokes, she was considered the All-American girl, but off-screen, she was being raised by an ill single mother while also dealing with her own addiction issues.
She was also sexualized at a young age and in one role was in a bikini and posing in a more mature manner.
While on Diff’rent Strokes, she had several scenes where she was also in swimsuits, being catcalled and objectified–by her own TV father, who said ‘she really did something for that bathing suit’ with a wink.
Todd Bridges, who played her brother Willis on the show, claims that at the age of twelve, Dana had performed a sexual act on him while he was sleeping. He went on to say they had a lot of sexual experiences for the first time together.
Dr. Drew wonders if Dana had been sexually abused and therefore, would act out. Todd wonders the same and wishes he could have helped had he known.
Scott Schwartz (of The Toy and A Christmas Story) fame had a tough childhood with very strict parents who would physically and mentally abuse him as he grew up.
He got into acting after a trip to New York and began doing commercials…..all because he knew it would make his father happy.
Dan Benson, who was in Wizards of Waverly Place, was into performing at a young age and began doing commercials. It was a way for him to escape bullying and it eventually led to him doing Nickelodeon and Disney shows, leading to being on Wizards.
Scott talks about his role on The Toy and working with Richard Pryor, who also struggled with abuse and addiction. The two would become close friends, but Dr. Drew believes that this friendship could have been detrimental to Scott since it led to him being exposed to sex, drugs and other such stuff at a very early age.
After The Toy, Scott and Richard lost touch for a bit, but Richard was the first person Scott called after his first time, which was with an older woman when Scott was fifteen-and-a-half. His father even encouraged it, and Scott had no problem with being with a 23-year-old at the time.
Dr. Drew, on the other hand, disagrees and finds it disturbing.
Maitland talks about being on The Bold and the Beautiful as Jessica Forrester. She thinks it was an overall great experience, albeit, overwhelming and the fact that at sixteen, she has kiss much older men. One actor on the show even went as far as to make her feel uncomfortable with his grooming type of behavior….something she did not realize was happening at the time.
She then talks about a statutory rape storyline the show did, something she calls upsetting and weird, especially since the producers and writers saw storylines based on toxic behavior.
Post-B&B, Maitland went on to star as Rachel McGuire on Boy Meets World. She was Jack and Eric’s roommate, who was seen as a sex kitten rather than a multi-dimensional character as the show went on.
She would often be half-naked, in a towel or lingerie. One time, she was doing a costume fitting, where she would have to have her pictures taken and move around in the lingerie to see how it looked and flowed on her body.
Maitland was 21 at the time and looking back sees how weird it was for her….and the fact that producers even wanted her in skimpier outfits. She does credit Michael Jacobs for talking to her about the situation when she said it bothered her.
Scott’s career began to take off, and he was working long hours and days without a break. However, after hitting his teens, things began to slow down. He would fall onto hard times and was taken advantage of by a financial advisor and PR agent.
He did what he would to make ends meet and his life would spiral during this time, causing him to have suicidal thoughts and feeling very alone.
He could go on to become a roadie, where everyone had to promise not to reveal his true identity. After some time doing this, he would go into the adult film industry, making one film based on his life.
Christy Canyon talks about her career as an adult film actress and working with Scott.
Another adult film actress, Ginger Lynn Allenwishes she could have helped Scott in his time of need.
Todd was also asked to do porn but turned it down due to having kids. Dana, on the other hand, went on to do Playboy and seemed excited about the possibilities that could follow….but would end up being a tabloid target instead.
Scott also saw his career suffer due to his adult film past.
Dana would continue to spiral, losing everything from her marriage and child and was in and out of jail for robbery and forgery. During this time, she would continue her adult film career and open up to Howard Stren about her life, the latter of which caused her to be harassed by listeners.
Todd had warned her not to do Howard’s show, but she insisted she was fine. It was the last time they would talk because Dana would take her own life the day after the interview aired.
Dan talks about his time on Wizards of Waverly Place as Zeke. He loved the fame and attention, but would fall into depression once the show ended and his career hit a wall.
Maitland would continue her adult film career and do cosplay, which would allow her to get validation and do what she genuinely loved in her own way.
However, this would cause her to be left out of Girl Meets World, the BMW spinoff.
Dan would have some nudes leaked to the internet. He had sent them to a person he had been flirting with online. He would lose his job during COVID and needed to take care of his sick dog…..and since he needed the money so badly, he would start an OnlyFans and adult content.
He would make a lot of money but would also be harassed online and lose out on being in the Wizards reboot.
Dan took a break for a bit, but went back to OnlyFans shortly after, becoming one of the most successful male content creators on the platform.
However, he faced a lot of sexual assault due to his work.
Maitland likes being able to do things on her own terms and is an award-winning adult film star. She wants to help protect other ladies in the business from being taken advantage of and hurt.
Scott is now back in mainstream and indie roles.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please reach out immediately to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
