Cole Sprouse says he's "violently defensive" against people who mock female Disney Channel stars "going nuts"

Entertainment Weekly

"My brother (Dylan Sprouse) and I used to get quite a bit of, 'Oh, you made it out! Oh, you’re unscathed!'" Cole Sprouse says in a New York Times profile. "No. The young women on the channel we were on (Disney Channel) were so heavily sexualized from such an earlier age than my brother and I that there’s absolutely no way that we could compare our experiences. And every single person going through that trauma has a unique experience. When we talk about child stars going nuts, what we’re not actually talking about is how fame is a trauma. So I’m violently defensive against people who mock some of the young women who were on the channel when I was younger because I don’t feel like it adequately comprehends the humanity of that experience and what it takes to recover. And, to be quite honest, as I have now gone through a second big round of this fame game as an adult, I’ve noticed the same psychological effects that fame yields upon a group of young adults as I did when I was a child. I just think people have an easier time hiding it when they’re older."