Growing up in the spotlight comes with some icky challenges!
Dakota Fanning reflected on her upbringing in a new interview with The Cut on Tuesday, and mostly, she shared a lot of frustration with the way adults used to treat her. And for good reason! The things she was asked as a child were really SO sus! For one, the Charlotte’s Web alum recalled:
“In interviews at a young age, I remember journalists asking me, ‘How are you avoiding becoming a tabloid girl?’ People would ask super-inappropriate questions. I was in an interview as a child and somebody asked, ‘How could you possibly have any friends?’ It’s like, huh?”
WTF!
Related: Christina Ricci Reveals Hollywood SAVED Her From ‘Failed Cult Leader’ Father!
Why would anyone ask someone that — let alone a child?? It’s so rude!
The Perfect Couple star, who noted she was always a “mature child,” remembered feeling very confused over the question at the time. She also added that it felt as if everyone was “wanting” for her to “fail or something.” She continued:
“For so much of my life, it felt like people were just waiting for me to make a massive mistake. Finally, I think, everybody sees that I’ve grown up, so I don’t have to worry about those things anymore. […] It makes you feel a little bit guarded. I’m just living my life over here.”
IYDK, Dakota really broke onto the scene in the early 2000s after the movies I Am Sam and War of the Worlds both earned her Critics Choice Awards, the first of which she won when she was just 7 years old. Now 30, she thinks part of the reason she was able to avoid some of the common pitfalls of her peers is because she was so young when she first gained fame, tho! She explained:
“I think also I was just a little too young for it to fully hit me. So that was good. People couldn’t get away with that kind of thing so much anymore. By the time I got to that age, it was sort of being recognized as probably not the best way to treat people.”
But it also helps that her momma Hannah Joy Arrington was with her “every second” to make sure she was being treated fairly and respectfully on set. She was also enrolled in high school and had a family of “very nice, kind, protective people,” which she thinks helped keep her grounded and shield her from the dark side of the industry. Plus, she had “some separation” between her normal and work life, too! The actress noted:
“I don’t get dressed to walk down the street. That’s just not me. I am just an actor. And the other things that come with it are things that you kind of deal with.”
As for some of those tabloid girls at the time, Dakota said she has “a lot of compassion” for celebs like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton, who were “made into examples.” She wondered:
“If society and the media hadn’t played their part, who knows?”
So true!
FWIW, Dakota has always been very open about how much she loved her childhood as a working actor, telling Variety in 2018:
“It’s added so much to my life and it does kind of hurt me a little bit when people try and somehow turn it into a negative and I don’t like it.”
Just ’cause she has some issues with the way she was treated — rightfully so — it doesn’t mean she would change anything. And it’s nice that she thinks things are changing for the next generations. Although TBH, there are always improvements to be made to keep young entertainers more protected — as so many child stars are starting to speak up about.
Thoughts? Let us know (below)!
