{"id":2386638,"date":"2026-04-23T23:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2386638"},"modified":"2026-04-23T23:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:12:10","slug":"hilary-duff-says-she-felt-quite-sad-watching-docs-about-exploited-child-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/hilary-duff-says-she-felt-quite-sad-watching-docs-about-exploited-child-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"Hilary Duff Says She Felt \u2018Quite Sad\u2019 Watching Docs About Exploited Child Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Former Disney Channel star Hilary Duff opened up about her own experiences as a youth in the spotlight when asked Wednesday about documentaries such as \u201cFraming Britney Spears\u201d or \u201c<\/span>Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,<\/span><\/a>\u201d which detailed sexual abuse claims from former Nickelodeon child stars who appeared in popular shows in the 1990s and 2000s.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Duff, now 38, said she felt \u201creally quite sad\u201d when watching the documentaries for \u201cobvious reasons.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI feel very grateful that I wasn\u2019t put in too many positions that left battle wounds on me,\u201d she said, <\/span>according to Variety<\/a>. \u201cBut I have held a job as an adult since I was nine years old. I have a very different upbringing. I have a lot of missed experiences, but also a lot of amazing [ones].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Duff, best known for starring as Lizzie McGuire in the eponymous show that aired from 2001 to 2004, shared that she faced pressure to perform as an adult while still a teenager. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m a scrubby kid from Texas,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes I\u2019m like, \u2018How did I end up here?\u2019 I think it goes to the luck of something, but it doesn\u2019t take away the fact that I\u2019ve worked as an adult since such a young age \u2014 and had to be able to hold my own in a room full of adults constantly. I was expected to show up and be professional through exhaustion or sickness or whatever.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On the flip side, the experience \u201ctaught me a lot,\u201d Duff said, \u201cand it\u2019s completely formed who I am. And I\u2019m proud of that person.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Duff then explained how \u201cit\u2019s hard to get out of\u201d the experience of growing up as a child actor. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201dI\u2019m at 38, and I feel like now I\u2019m finally able to take agency in my life and make decisions that I\u2019m really confident in,\u201d she added. \u201cAlthough I did before, but there\u2019s just a level now where I\u2019m like, \u2018I\u2019m the adult in the room. Finally!\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n