By now you've probably seen something in your feed about the documentary series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
Even before the documentary, it was no secret that child stars have struggled with addiction, abuse and hefty arrest records. The documentary helped provide context on why some of these child stars may have turned out the way they did.
"Quiet on Set" is a really good watch, and I truly do recommend everyone watch it. What scares me the most?
How many people were aware of the abuse that happened on set.
In my opinion, the most disturbing part was when a mother found a nude picture that was sent to her young daughter by a production assistant. She chose to keep it to herself.
Throughout the mini-series, parents expressed feeling discomfort and sensing something was off, yet they did nothing about it. The only parent that vocally expressed concern was Joe Bell (father of Drake Bell), and when he spoke up, they told him he was homophobic and did not understand gay people.
His son was abused for years by that same man.
Most parents did not speak up, and their silence contributed to the problem. Most of the kids in this industry were making more money than their parents, so it's not surprising the parents were incentivized to keep their kids in the industry (even if it harmed them for life).
No job, TV show, or any opportunity is worth putting your child in a potentially dangerous situation.
This abuse happened years ago, and the culture of abuse has only gotten worse.
Today, parents don't need a break in Hollywood to exploit their children. The introduction of family vloggers has allowed any parent to profit off of their child in their own home. One example is Ruby Franke, a "mommy vlogger," who was arrested and sentenced for child abuse. While she got caught, who knows how many more children are being abused, or how many parents are waiting to start doing this.
Children should not be tools for profit in any manner. Any parent that wants to exploit their children for content is subjecting them to abuse. I understand that sometimes children need to be a part of a TV or film set, but if they are, they need to be protected.
These protections need to be taken seriously ... sometimes that includes protection from their own parents.
It is clear that, as a society, we have a hard time speaking up when something is wrong. Time and time again, when something awful is exposed, there are multiple people who say they saw something or "had a bad feeling," but never said anything.
