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Former Disney star Maitland Ward says young actors were treated like a ‘product’ in Hollywood factory
As a teenager, Maitland Ward — who first found fame as Jessica Forrester in “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and later Rachel McQuire in the beloved ‘90s Disney TV show, “Boy Meets World” — was exposed to a dark side of Hollywood that wasn’t often discussed. From being put in compromising and “provocative” positions as a minor on set to quickly becoming a product of a “twisted male gaze” at such a young age, the California native faced a wave of challenges and is now gearing up to expose the pitfalls of young stardom.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the former child actress, who stars in the upcoming episode of Investigation Discovery’s “Hollywood Demons”, opens up about her troubling past of becoming a man-made “product” as a kid and explained how she managed to escape social norms and make waves as an adult film star.
“I can’t speak to how Hollywood is today because it’s such a different animal than it was back when I was getting into it,” said Ward, 49. “Back then, I think they looked at these young actors as like property coming in. And I really believe the studios, they wanted to mold and form these young actors into what they wanted them to be, what they needed them to be for the company and for the audience, to what they felt would identify with.”
“I think it was such a factory kind of environment. Like you were just a product being sold, and you knew that yourself,” she continued. “I mean, I didn’t think anything was wrong at the time with anything that was going on really. I mean it felt ill at ease in my own body and all my feelings and stuff, but I thought that was just me being stupid. I have to be professional. I have to be part of that Hollywood machine. And that’s really what it was.”
For Ward, telling her story in “Hollywood Demons” was an opportunity to release baggage that has been with her all these years.
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“It was very therapeutic to tell the story at the age that I am now about my 16-year-old self, 17, 20, whatever, that my young self coming up in a business that thought of her as a product and was very dismissive of the product a lot of the time. They just wanted it for what they wanted it for. And then cast it aside when they didn’t. And that happened to many, many young actors.”
“I think this show really examines that on a lot of fronts in young Hollywood, especially in that world of the 90s and the early 2000s, where women were just put into this box where you had to be this young woman that was either, a virgin and a slut all at once,” she continued. “And I hate to use those terms exactly, but that’s what it was.”
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“It was like the Britney Spears thing. She had to go on TV and swear up and down she was a virgin, but she was being used provocatively for her body and her sexual image, and it was all for this like twisted male gaze that Hollywood was just inflicting on everybody. They were telling us things, like this is what the audience wants, this is how they want you to be, this is how they want women to be. But it really wasn’t true because if you go back or you talk to people now, they were like, ‘Oh, I love this stuff about you, or I love stuff about the show.’ And it’s so different from what we were told the audience was craving.”
Looking back at her time on “Boy Meets World,” Ward, who was 21 when she joined the cast in the later seasons, said it’s difficult to look back at all the “provocative, weird situations” she was put in.
In a 2022 interview with Complex, Ward detailed being “sexualized” while starring on the Disney show.
WATCH: Former Disney star Maitland Ward says young actors were treated like a ‘product’ in Hollywood factory
“I didn’t realize the food fight was such a fetish kind of thing, like, food and feet and all this stuff going on. I didn’t realize all of the innuendos that were made in Rachel’s direction and I think the writers, and Michael especially, really enjoyed playing with that, but then it could not be on my terms,” Ward said, referencing co-creator Michael Jacobs.
Ward said she didn’t think much of it at the time.
“We all just thought it was normal and nobody thought anything of it,” Ward told Fox News Digital. “And I’m sure like a younger audience, like if I was a kid watching that and I didn’t think anything of that. But when you examine it, adults were creating this space and making this kind of product. It’s really troubling just seeing how other people have been through similar situations.”
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Ward said that because it was taboo to discuss any feelings of doubt at the time, she finds it freeing to be able to air out her grievances and connect with others who were put in similar situations.
“It’s kind of freeing to say, ‘Oh, wait, you felt that way too? And you went through a similar situation.’ There’s so much of the story that we don’t know. We just see like what Hollywood shows us. But [“Hollywood Demons”] really peels back that barrier that we have. We can see everything that’s going on, and it’s really important that we do examine this, especially for future generations, the younger generation coming through.”
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These days, Ward — who has not only found mega success in the adult film industry, but has been a champion for women breaking barriers professionally and personally — has never felt more empowered.
“I think I just feel really free after all of it, just that I’ve just gotten so much of myself out there,” said Ward, who published her memoir, “Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me from Hollywood” in 2022. “I think people have a misconception about actors in general, and of course people in the adult industry in general. And I think my story is multifaceted.”
“It’s a story for every woman, every person that says, people are telling them, ‘No,’ over and over again,” she added. “They’re telling them what they should be, how they should act. We see it in everyday life. Like at any business, at any situation, people are trying to put especially women into this box. And it’s really a story of self-discovery, and just finding who you are as an authentic person in any way that you want to.”
“Hollywood Demons: Child Stars Gone Wild” premieres Monday, April 27 on Investigation Discovery. Episodes are available to stream on HBO Max.
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Ex-NYPD inspector warns social media likely helped political violence ‘metastasize’ into WHCD scare
A lone gunman’s alleged attempt to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday is the latest sign of a “metastasizing” wave of political violence fueled by social media, retired NYPD inspector Paul Mauro warned Sunday.
“This reminds me a bit of what it was like at the height of the [post-9/11] ‘age of terrorism’, or ‘age of counterterrorism…'” Mauro told “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
“As it began to metastasize [beyond Afghanistan]… it began to permeate the internet, and that’s the great common denominator here, is the rise of the internet, and the rise of social media specifically, has allowed this ideology to disseminate into corners where previously it would not have found so much support,” he added.
Mauro’s remarks came after authorities said 31-year-old suspect Cole Thomas Allen allegedly rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner armed with multiple weapons.
Allen then allegedly opened fire on a Secret Service officer, who was taken to the hospital after he was shot in his ballistic vest.
Agents reportedly fired back at Allen, who was not struck. He was also taken to the hospital.
Senior federal law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation told Fox News that Allen told law enforcement after his arrest that he was targeting Trump administration officials.
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche did not specify which officials were Allen’s intended targets during a Sunday NBC News appearance.
Lawmakers and authorities have since condemned the suspect’s actions and have called for rhetoric to be toned down to prevent similar incidents.
“Almost any [person] these days can find some place, some niche on the internet that will support your position,” Mauro said.
“And I think once the search warrants are completed and the computers and phones are scrubbed, etc., we are almost certainly going to see that the accused here, Cole Allen, was probably imbibing that kind of ideology online, and he decided to act on it because people were telling him it’s the right thing to do.”
Similar warnings followed the 2024 assassination attempts against President Donald Trump and the Sept. 2025 assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus.
Trump and all other administration officials present at Saturday’s dinner were safely ushered out of the venue.
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Kimmel calls Melania Trump an ‘expectant widow’ before White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel mocked President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump in a White House Correspondents’ Dinner parody this week, calling her “an expectant widow” and joking about her marriage, just days before the dinner was disrupted by a shooting.
“Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said in his parody of the event on Thursday.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is an annual gathering hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association to honor journalism and fund scholarships. This year’s event, which took place on Saturday in Washington D.C., drew outsized attention because Trump attended in person for the first time while in office, though the evening was later overshadowed by violence.
Kimmel also used the parody to mock the Trumps’ relationship, portraying distance between the president and the first lady.
“Oh, by the way, Melania, this is Donald. Donald, this is Melania,” Kimmel said.
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The comedian pivoted to the first lady’s April 26 birthday and imagined how she would mark the occasion.
“She’s planning to celebrate at home the same way she always does, looking out a window and whispering, ‘What have I done?’” Kimmel said.
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Kimmel’s segment aired just days before the annual Correspondents’ Dinner was thrown into chaos when authorities said 31-year-old Cole Allen of Torrance, Calif., rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton armed with multiple weapons and opened fire on an officer.
Fox News Digital reported the officer was struck in a ballistic vest and taken to a hospital, while agents returned fire and detained Allen, who was also transported for treatment. Trump, first lady Melania Trump and senior administration officials were then rushed from the venue by Secret Service agents.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and ABC for comment but did not immediately hear back.
MLB teams have been trying out uniforms across the league labeled as the “City Connect” collection. Some are cool, some are lame and some are… the Cincinnati Reds.
Full disclosure: I am a Reds fan. It’s a painful existence, to be certain (Cincinnati hasn’t won a playoff series since 1995 when I was 6 years old). But I’m not sure that I’ve seen anything as disgusting on the field as the uniforms the Reds wore on Saturday night against the Detroit Tigers.
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Prior to the game, the Reds welcomed the team’s 2026 Reds Hall of Fame Class, including Brandon Phillips, Lou Piniella, Aaron Harang and Reggie Sanders. And then they subjected those team legends to the worst uniforms in franchise history. A history that also includes many sleeveless jerseys, by the way.
For the squeamish among us, I’d encourage you now to either shield your eyes or go read another story (preferably not that one, retention time is important for me).
Seriously, what the heck are these uniforms? The all-red is atrocious. The logo is huge and ugly. And, you might not be able to tell, but there are also faint pinstripes on the jersey, the pants and the helmet. Why? It’s as if the designer’s direction was “Hey, can you make the ugliest uniforms in Reds history?”
“Done and done.”
And just to be clear, this is the actual plan: an all-red City Connect 2.0 set with faint pinstripes and a darker red sleeve. It’s not a one-off mistake.
For the record, here’s what the Reds official website says about the uniforms:
“A perennial favorite of both Reds fans and players alike, pinstripes have been featured on various Reds uniforms throughout history. City Connect 2.0 brings back this classic element to a new generation, but in a modernized tone-on-tone style. The sleeve is a darker shade of red and the jersey’s pinstripes [are] intentionally cut off at the shoulder, a nod to the popular vest-style uniforms last worn two decades ago.”
Why in the world are they reminding people about the “vest-style” uniforms? Those were terrible too!
With all the discussions about the New York Yankees looking to finally add an alternate uniform, I think it’s time the Reds went the opposite direction. Cincinnati is the oldest franchise in MLB history. They should have simple, classic uniforms. I get it, I sound like a mid-30-year-old trapped in the mind of an 80-year-old. Fine.
Give me the classic Reds uniforms all day over this “modern” abomination.
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