Raven-Symoné, Alyson Stoner and JoJo Siwa join the “You’ll Be OK, Kid” singer at the premiere of her Hulu documentary, “Child Star."
If you thought a premiere for a documentary about child stardom was going to start on time, you probably aren’t too familiar with the pressures of early fame. Demi Lovato’s latest Hulu doc “Child Star” premiered Thursday night in Hollywood, proving to be her most intimate and cinematic self-examination yet.
Following in the footsteps of “Stay Strong,” “Simply Complicated” and “Dancing With the Devil,” Lovato enlisted help from her fellow famous former child stars for her co-directorial debut (along with filmmaker Nicola Marsh) — and she got legitimate A-list names for it: Raven-Symoné, Drew Barrymore, Christina Ricci, Kenan Thompson, Alyson Stoner and JoJo Siwa.
The doc is all about the shared struggles that child stars experience, from Hollywood history-makers such as Shirley Temple and Jackie Coogan to modern social media influencers like Ryan. While their symptoms manifested in different ways, Lovato clearly felt connected to her cohorts in a way that allowed the audience to imagine the toll the price of fame takes.
However, as one of the faces of her generation of Disney Channel stars, she also shared expert advice to any kid — or any potential stage parent — interested in chasing the high that is child stardom, bluntly admitting, “I have way more than just one piece of advice.”
“My first piece of advice is to invest in the relationships that are meaningful and important to you. Because at the end of the day, fame and fortune can and will disappear, but what will be there at the end of the day are your family and friends,” Lovato shared in a post-screening Q&A. “My second piece of advice would be to have a backup plan. Just in case you wake up one day and think, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to … be an accountant.’ Have a backup plan, it’s really smart. It’s in every child star’s best interest to have a backup plan. And third would be to have fun. If you’re not having fun, what’s the point of it?”
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