Former Disney star Maitland Ward says young actors were treated like a 'product' in Hollywood factory
As a teenager, Maitland Ward — who first found fame as Jessica Forrester in "The Bold and the Beautiful," and later Rachel McQuire in the beloved ‘90s Disney TV show, "Boy Meets World" — was exposed to a dark side of Hollywood that wasn't often discussed. From being put in compromising and "provocative" positions as a minor on set to quickly becoming a product of a "twisted male gaze" at such a young age, the California native faced a wave of challenges and is now gearing up to expose the pitfalls of young stardom.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the former child actress, who stars in the upcoming episode of Investigation Discovery's "Hollywood Demons", opens up about her troubling past of becoming a man-made "product" as a kid and explained how she managed to escape social norms and make waves as an adult film star.
"I can't speak to how Hollywood is today because it's such a different animal than it was back when I was getting into it," said Ward, 49. "Back then, I think they looked at these young actors as like property coming in. And I really believe the studios, they wanted to mold and form these young actors into what they wanted them to be, what they needed them to be for the company and for the audience, to what they felt would identify with."
"I think it was such a factory kind of environment. Like you were just a product being sold, and you knew that yourself," she continued. "I mean, I didn't think anything was wrong at the time with anything that was going on really. I mean it felt ill at ease in my own body and all my feelings and stuff, but I thought that was just me being stupid. I have to be professional. I have to be part of that Hollywood machine. And that's really what it was."
For Ward, telling her story in "Hollywood Demons" was an opportunity to release baggage that has been with her all these years.
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"It was very therapeutic to tell the story at the age that I am now about my 16-year-old self, 17, 20, whatever, that my young self coming up in a business that thought of her as a product and was very dismissive of the product a lot of the time. They just wanted it for what they wanted it for. And then cast it aside when they didn't. And that happened to many, many young actors."
"I think this show really examines that on a lot of fronts in young Hollywood, especially in that world of the 90s and the early 2000s, where women were just put into this box where you had to be this young woman that was either, a virgin and a slut all at once," she continued. "And I hate to use those terms exactly, but that's what it was."
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"It was like the Britney Spears thing. She had to go on TV and swear up and down she was a virgin, but she was being used provocatively for her body and her sexual image, and it was all for this like twisted male gaze that Hollywood was just inflicting on everybody. They were telling us things, like this is what the audience wants, this is how they want you to be, this is how they want women to be. But it really wasn't true because if you go back or you talk to people now, they were like, 'Oh, I love this stuff about you, or I love stuff about the show.' And it's so different from what we were told the audience was craving."
Looking back at her time on "Boy Meets World," Ward, who was 21 when she joined the cast in the later seasons, said it's difficult to look back at all the "provocative, weird situations" she was put in.
In a 2022 interview with Complex, Ward detailed being "sexualized" while starring on the Disney show.
WATCH: Former Disney star Maitland Ward says young actors were treated like a 'product' in Hollywood factory
"I didn’t realize the food fight was such a fetish kind of thing, like, food and feet and all this stuff going on. I didn’t realize all of the innuendos that were made in Rachel’s direction and I think the writers, and Michael especially, really enjoyed playing with that, but then it could not be on my terms," Ward said, referencing co-creator Michael Jacobs.
Ward said she didn't think much of it at the time.
"We all just thought it was normal and nobody thought anything of it," Ward told Fox News Digital. "And I'm sure like a younger audience, like if I was a kid watching that and I didn't think anything of that. But when you examine it, adults were creating this space and making this kind of product. It's really troubling just seeing how other people have been through similar situations."
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Ward said that because it was taboo to discuss any feelings of doubt at the time, she finds it freeing to be able to air out her grievances and connect with others who were put in similar situations.
"It's kind of freeing to say, 'Oh, wait, you felt that way too? And you went through a similar situation.' There's so much of the story that we don't know. We just see like what Hollywood shows us. But ["Hollywood Demons"] really peels back that barrier that we have. We can see everything that's going on, and it's really important that we do examine this, especially for future generations, the younger generation coming through."
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These days, Ward — who has not only found mega success in the adult film industry, but has been a champion for women breaking barriers professionally and personally — has never felt more empowered.
"I think I just feel really free after all of it, just that I've just gotten so much of myself out there," said Ward, who published her memoir, "Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me from Hollywood" in 2022. "I think people have a misconception about actors in general, and of course people in the adult industry in general. And I think my story is multifaceted."
"It's a story for every woman, every person that says, people are telling them, 'No,' over and over again," she added. "They're telling them what they should be, how they should act. We see it in everyday life. Like at any business, at any situation, people are trying to put especially women into this box. And it's really a story of self-discovery, and just finding who you are as an authentic person in any way that you want to."
"Hollywood Demons: Child Stars Gone Wild" premieres Monday, April 27 on Investigation Discovery. Episodes are available to stream on HBO Max.