When Josh Peck was 16 , someone from Nickelodeon allegedly told him to take a GED test from a sketchy guy who ’d " facilitate " if he did n’t pass so that he could stop doing on - set shoal , which slew into the number of hour he was legally allowed to work .
Child entertainers areexemptfrom child labor laws, though most states still haveregulationsin place to protect them. Unfortunately, however, the adults in charge sometimes find “loopholes” for these laws.
Here are 11 child stars who were pressured into emancipation, early graduation, and other loopholes so they could work adult hours:
1.The Crushproducers told 15-year-oldAlicia Silverstoneto get emancipated so they could get around child labor laws.
She toldRolling Stone , " If you ’re liberate , it entail you ’re legally 18 and can work crazy hours … It ’s too unvoiced to get emancipated in LA , so my pa track down a space in Oakland . I had to fend before a judge and tell him I was living on my own , which was not true , and also tell him I was self - defend , which was true . And then after sophomore year , I leave office high school . "
Her dad , Monty Silverstone , added , " I did n’t want her to be manumit , but her factor keep telling me if she was n’t emancipate , she would n’t getThe Crush . So I weakened and sit Alicia down and said , ' mind , you ’re emancipated , but you ’ve got to promise you ’re always go to be my slight girl . I do n’t want anything to change . It ’s got to be precisely as it is now . ' "
Alicia suppose that " nothing really changed , " but her mom , Didi , say that she felt like she " lose " her girl when she went to shootThe Crush .
2.At 17, Daniella Monet emancipated herself so that she could shootTaking 5. On the podcastVulnerable with Christy Carlson Romano, she said, “I did a high school equivalency exam, which was not even a legit high school equivalency exam…A lot of people were doing it at the time. I went to this place in, like, Koreatown. They say it’s a four-hour test. You sit down. You answer a bunch of questions, and then they give you a high school diploma.”
OnTikTok , she also said , " It was like $ 700 or $ 800 … I know several mass [ who did this ] , but I will not name names because , they ’re , like , big actors . "
3.At the suggestion of someone who worked for Nickelodeon,Josh Peckgot his GED at 16 so that he could stop doing on-set school, which cut into the number of hours he was legally allowed to work.
On the podcastCancelled with Tana Mongeau , he said , " I just recollect it was float , and I ca n’t tell you who , but they definitely worked for the show . They were like , ' You have intercourse , there ’s a guy .. And you rather go , and you take a GED test . And if you do n’t run it , he help you . '
4.When Eliza Dushku was 17, she wasgivena bigger role onBuffy the Vampire Slayer, but she was reportedly required to get emancipated so she could film at night.
The judge was a fan who asked for a sign picture before she signed the emancipation order .
5.When 15-year-oldAvril Lavignevisited a music studio inNew York, she had an impromptu meeting with LA Reid, who signed her to a record deal that day. So, she left high school and moved to NYC.
She toldPrivate session , " I was reckon to do homeschooling . I had books , but I did n’t do it . So , basically , I ’m a mellow school dropout . "
6.With her mother’s help, Laura Dern gotemancipatedto make it easier to get work as an actor.
She alsograduatedhigh schooltime early by double up on classes .
7.When Juliette Lewis was 14, her parents helped her get emancipated based on the advice of other parents of child actors.
She toldHuffPost Live , " I know that sound all radical , but when you start acting when you ’re younger , you lecture to other actor kidskin and their moms , and they ’re like , ' Yeah , if you want to get a caper , they care on your resume to say emancipated modest versus minor , because you then can work over eight minute . ' "
8.When Ryan Gosling was 17, hereportedlydropped out of high school in Canada so that he could filmYoung Herculesin New Zealand.
A few age in the first place , when he was onThe Mickey Mouse Clubin the US , his momhadto return to Canada for her line , so , for six months , his costar Justin Timberlake ’s mom was his effectual guardian .
9.At 15, Jaime Pressly got emancipated from her parents so that she could go to Japan on a modeling contract.
She toldNBC Miami , " I felt for my parents . I apologized copiously years later , but I was just very strong - willed and strong - minded and had my own idea , thought outside of the corner . And coming from a little town , I really did n’t fit in at all . "
10.To work longer hours, Michelle Williams emancipated herself and moved into her own apartment in Burbank at 15.
She toldGQ , " It was just stupefied . I did n’t know what I was take up on . I do n’t think things through very often — I do n’t project into the futurity about how a situation will turn over out . Even the simplest things , I ’m guilty of making really bad determination a lot of the prison term . In my study it ’s a capacity that ’s served me well , but in my animation it can be a trouble . "
She also told theGuardian , " There are some really yucky people in the world , and I met some of them . "
11.And finally, Alyson Stoner, who began working at eight, had agents who encouraged them “to look at early emancipation” so they could work longer hours in order to increase their “hire-ability.”
In an op - ed forPeople , they save " While some companionship quell within the effectual range of working hours for kid , many do not . disregarding , set up conditions are inappropriate and hazardous . "
Despite the force per unit area , they did n’t seek emancipation . They said , " The brokenheartedness , injury and stress overwhelm me like a tsunami , and I admit myself to rehab against the counsel of my squad [ at 17 ] . ( They continue to broadcast me auditions while I ’m on bedrest.) … alas , I am remind that read this break risks losing momentum … I dared to lose everything I ’d worked for and walk away long enough to make headway paradigm - shattering insight . These prerogative are not evenly available , circularise or even advance . The opposite is on a regular basis enable . "
