Zendaya Reveals Why She Had to ‘Protect’ Herself as a Child Star: ‘I Wish I Was Just a Kid’

Zendaya had to learn to “protect” herself as a child star.
The 27-year-old actress rose to fame in her early teens when she was cast alongside Bella Thorne in the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up and has embarked on a glamorous Hollywood career in subsequent years, but admitted she sometimes wishes she could do. remained a normal child “a little longer” because she recalled feeling very “vulnerable” at a young age.
Speaking on YouTube series PayOrWait, she said: “This is a lesson to learn young. I was a kid thrown into a very adult industry where if you have a point or say something, it’s like, “Well, they’re kids.” And parents… it’s like… they’re just parents, so you have to learn to protect yourself pretty quickly.
“For me, it was a lesson learned quite early—back in the Disney days—about the little tricks and little things I could do to protect myself, or protect my peace, or protect my happiness. I think when you’re a kid, in this industry, you’re very vulnerable. I would have loved to have been a kid a little longer, but yes, the lessons happened very early. I don’t know if it was a specific moment, but it definitely happened quite early on, I need to learn to protect myself a little bit.”
However, the Dune: Part Two star recalled that while she was filming Disney Chanel, she had a teacher who she felt put the child’s well-being above all else, and said it might be a “surprise” to learn that someone likes this is quite a rare occurrence in the industry.
She said: “I had a wonderful teacher on set who was very adamant about safety, breaks, time and so on… she’s like an aunt to me now. Hi Monique!
“She became my family, but she was a person who was just protective of the child, she would say, ‘They need to take a break,’ or ‘It’s too dangerous, I don’t want them to do this,’ or ‘They need to take a break.’ school!’.
“You will be surprised to know that this is not common practice in this industry.”