By Eamon Scarbrough
Actress Halle Berry last year championed the passing of a bill that restricts paparazzi from taking pictures of celebrity children in California. Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law in September, and now paparazzi are playing by a slightly different set of rules.
While it makes perfect sense that a celebrity would want his or her children’s privacy to be respected, how does this law apply to child stars?
The way I see it, this law could hurt both parties: the celebrity and the photographer. Without the proper amount of coverage, an actor potentially could have less notoriety, and it doesn’t take much to make or break a career in acting.
On the other hand, a childhood is a precious thing and should be preserved. There are a lot of former child stars such as Gary Coleman and Danny Bonaduce who have noticeably lost their luster. They can be seen trudging miserably through the streets of Los Angeles, exhausted by a fruitless career and acting violently toward the camera.
All of their energy in childhood was dedicated to their careers, and no time was put aside simply to enjoy the pleasures of playing in the yard or digging up bugs in the mud. It is indeed dangerous for a child star to be suffocated with news coverage lest they start acting like a full-fledged adult at the age of 14. This embrace of adulthood at such an early age often comes with some unhealthy adult habits such as drinking and doing drugs.
I remember seeing a set of photos from around 2002 that showed Harry Potter star Emma Watson, probably around 15, drinking a beer. She was sitting against a trailer, and, by the look of it, she had had a few more drinks off camera. She gazed longingly into her beer as if it was some totem symbolizing her successful journey into stardom. But this is not a friendly image—while she may have been able to handle a drink, others haven’t been so lucky.
Justin Bieber is well on his way to killing himself (or getting himself killed) if he continues to drive drunk, act insubordinately, and use his celebrity to bend others to his will. Sadly for him, he’s not a minor anymore and likely will be involved in further controversies.
If Bieber is any indication, future child stars may face a similar future.