Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Demi Lovato. Three stars with a range of breakdowns--and virtually matching sets of Disney ears.
Coincidence? Or something more? Are Magic Kingdom stars cursed?
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The same basic question has been asked of Brat Packers and garden-variety child stars, and the answer is the always no.
But before dismissing the Disney curse out of hand, we ran the idea by a successful TV director, who, oh, by the way, was himself once a Disney kid star.
"If you don't have a good solid background, there's all sort of ways you can get into trouble," Kevin Corcoran told us today, "and it's not just from Disney, it's at any studio."
Corcoran, one of the so-called " Disney Legends," whose credits include the family classic Old Yeller, knows well that last point: He had siblings who as children worked at Disney, and siblings who worked elsewhere. "They all tuned out fine," he said.
So if the notion that a Disney pay stub is a one-way ticket to a mugshot (like Lohan), a wig-out (like Spears), a rehab stay (like Lovato), or even a felony conviction (like Mouseketeer Darlene Gillespie), then what about the idea that Disney kids are under more pressure than Nick kids, music kids or other non-ear-wearing kids?
"Because the company [Disney] represents wholesomeness...there may be a little more scrutiny then if it's a child that's at a different company that's not just in the G[-rated] product area," Corcoran said.
The bottom line: Yes, Lovato's hurting, and, yes, she's under the microscope, but no, she's not cursed.