Decade of Disney Star Scandals

By Scott Harris Posted Dec 10th 2009 10:00AM

For nearly a century, the Walt Disney Company has been world renowned for their animation, their family values and their children's entertainment. Now, thanks to the last decade of activity, they've also become dominant in one more public arena: celebrity scandals.

Okay, so maybe that's not quite the reputation that Disney was aiming for, but since the turn of the century, current and former Disney stars have been constantly in the news and not for their wholesome values. Instead it's been one DUI, nude photo or existential meltdown after another.

So how did the Mouse House end up in this position? With the decade winding to a close, we thought this would be a perfect time to take a look back on the mess that can only be called a Decade of Disney Star Scandals.

Ex-Mouseketeer Justin Timberlake is one of the biggest pop stars in the world. It's only fitting, then, that the biggest star should have the biggest scandal: during a live performance at the 2004 Super Bowl, he famously exposed Janet Jackson due to a "wardrobe malfunction". The media firestorm that followed resulted in federal sanctions, widespread handwringing and numerous public apologies from Timberlake.

Timberlake's former girlfriend and fellow Mouseketeer Britney Spears was once among the only musicians who could rival Timberlake's success. Now, however, she's on a level all by herself -- a very, very low level, that is, thanks to a decade of borderline deranged behavior that has included public spats with her baby daddy Kevin Federline, an infamous head shaving and one particularly ill-conceived decision to go commando. Here's hoping Spears manages to get her act together before our 2019 retrospective.

Miley Cyrus vaulted to fame almost overnight as the title character on 'Hannah Montana '. But since becoming a teen icon she's gained even greater fame thanks to a number of more adult scandals, such as her controversial semi-nude photos for Vanity Fair and her pole dancing routine at the Teen Choice Awards of all places. Still, she proved she has a lot of growing up left to do with her mean girl YouTube disses of fellow Disney sensations Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. Britney would be proud.

Vanessa Hudgens is best known for playing shy brainiac Gabriella Montex in the Disney mega-hit 'High School Musical' film franchise, which is apparently a testament to her acting skills: Hudgens proved she was anything but shy with a batch of nude and provocative photos that hit the internet back in 2007. Hudgens was backed by Disney, who said they believed she had learned her lesson; another bunch of nude photos that landed earlier this fall suggests otherwise.

The Cheetah Girls were supposed to be Disney's version of a wholesome girl band. That wholesome image took a bit of a hit thanks a batch of nude photos starring Cheetah singer Adrienne Bailon. Bailon claimed that the pictures were taken from a stolen laptop, but other sources indicated the entire affair was planned by Bailon as a media stunt. After all, if it worked for Vanessa Hudgens...

Lindsay Lohan started her career off as a winsome and precocious talent in kid fare such as the remake of 'The Parent Trap'. Since reaching her teens, however, the troubled actress has been involved in one scandal after another thanks to her hard partying lifestyle and her public feud with her own mother.

Multiple DUIs, accompanied by drug charges, eventually landed Lohan in jail for 84 minutes. So far.

Compared to some of those that have followed in her footsteps, pop icon Christina Aguilera seems positively saintly. It's instructive to remember, then, that the former Mouseketeer's bad girl image was actually scandalous when she debuted it with 2002's album 'Stripped'.

Considering the scandals that have followed, the outcry over her raunchy lyrics and dance moves shows just how far we have come since -- or how low we have sunk.

Even Disney's second stringers have gotten into the act this decade. You may not be as familiar with them, but Kirsten Storms (from the company's 'Kim Possible' series) and Anneliese van der Pol ('That's So Raven') both starred in their own mini-dramas thanks to separate DUI convictions. Now that's just goofy. Get it? Goofy?

We close out our look at Disney scandals with Zac Efron, who is an interesting object lesson not because of what he has done but because he shows just how much the media want a good scandal to report on. Efron has been the subject of multiple "rumors", including photos that supposedly proved he was gay (he's not) and a sex tape with former girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens that purportedly exists (it doesn't). But don't worry, Zac, this will eventually blow over. After all, there's a new crop of Disney stars coming up through the ranks and we have no doubt that soon enough, one of them will have an actual scandal and take the heat off of you.

Tags: Disney, mouseketeers, walt disney, Walt Disney Co.

Comments

(67)

Friday 11 December

By Jackie

Vote down Vote up Report this

DO NOT blame poor Britney and Miley. They were victims in it all, not villians.

They just persued their dreams, their dreams came true. But being so young and getting famous fast takes it's toll on a teen, and the media teands to fabricate a lot of things.

The media wold not be so harsh if they knew just how much secret hell all teen girls go through.

By Allen

Lmao! get a life ppl.. if u knew anyone in this list personally you'd know just how false it all is. I suggest living you own lives and not through the misconceived perspectives of other humans lives. Anyone actually enjoying such media coverage as this.. i feel sorry for you. :( my christmas wish for you is inner peace and find some true meaning for yourselves in this life. a sincere merry christmas to all! :)

By Tricia

In my world, this article (wrongly) said it...."the bigger the star, the greater exspected the scandal to be"....I don't waste my time with "Trash and Trashing". If people/"stars" want to wallow in the mud, then don't exspect me to be nearby when he/she tries to shake it off. Disney will clean-up its house or it will mar in the mud along with their (so called) stars.

By Patrik

If anything this shows how low the media has sunk in its desperation to create scandals out of nothing. Miley Cyrus did NOT "pole dance" at the Teen Choice awards. She sang while holding onto a pole. Britney Spears has already bounced back and had a #1 album that is still breaking records. I think she's at the highest point in her career. And finally, Lindsay Lohan's feuds have been with her father, not her mother. Who did this inane reporting?

By Lulu

Miley is awesome. She should not be included in this article. The Vanity Fair photo(s) didn't show anything; they were sophisticated, classy, and artistically beautiful. The pole dancing is irrelevant; it's not like she gave her dad a lap dance while she flossed her booty with the pole. Most teenage girls would do the same thing in that position. They want to grow up fast.

By George

I grew up fascinated with Annette Funicello. A lady first, always, she followed Mr. Disney's advice to never show her navel in her Beach Blanket movies. She was the one in the one-piece bathing suit. And when her time for fame was up, she raised a family and bore a scourge of disease with dignity courage. God love you Annette, a role model that lacked a proper following.

NO MORALS? Yeah, because the disintegration of morals came about with this generation... how long has the world "moral" existed? Just curious.

By sandy

how about some of Disney's buxon female cartoon figures? that's all i got to say read between the lines

By Hektor

It's so silly. Miley Cyrus and that werewolf guy from twilight are the exact same age, she's semi naked with her back to the camera on a cover, he's posing on covers with his shirt dripping wet and there's no scandal about him being shirtless throughout the entire movie. Double standard.

By mousey

The parents of these kids are the second generation of "anything goes" generation X.

The morals of this country are going downhill & the networks are using the "protection of the 2nd amendment" to show this garbage to underage kids.

By josh

Lady gaga is actually bringing something different to the table! She has a new style of her own and I dig it. I am sick of the same old thing and she defianatly has hot beats that rock!!

By arthuropodd

Thank you Slimy Media for continuing to use imaginary scandals (Miley's so-called "racy" pics showed less skin than people show at a public beach) to make people forget the real scandals.

Anyone remember the wall street exectutives who robbed us blind, destroyed the economy of the WORLD and then got hefty bonuses from our tax dollars? Probably not, the "Blame Obama" campaign is going too well, even without celebrity distractions.

These executives are probably never going to be prosecuted for criminal behavior and have already gotten billions as a reward for behavior that makes these stars look like saints. Give me Britney and Linsey in all their insane, drunken glory anyday. They've only hurt themselves, not the entire world. If you think Miley's tattoo is a serious problem, get a brain as well as a life.

Monday 14 December

By Kris

Britney is already getting her act together! I'm disappointed in this report.

By PURSEY

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE.............FAG
MILEY CYRUS.................SKANK
LINDSEY LOHAN..USED UP COKE WHORE

By Pete Staff

Lindsay Lohan. Needs some work on her nose and face. To much booze will always show it self.
To bad,she is starting to looks like a lush.

By Milt

The original Mouseketeers set the precedent. Doreen posed nude and classic "good" girl Darlene Gillespie has felony convictions on her record.

By Diana

I feel bad for all of these younger people. They will never know what real privacy is. Millions of dollars could make up for it when ones older. lol But those young years, no one ever gets those back.

By ashley

what?? chelsea from thats so raven had a DUI? get outta town..lol

By mark turner

Well, you can blame the failed experiment that is Liberalism for the current atmosphere of anything-goes "if it feels good, it must be okay!" permissiveness. Thank you so much for perverting our childrens' innocence and youth.

By jj

The girls are outright pigs. AIDS incubators. End of story

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