Disney Channel singer and actress Demi Lovato, 18, has checked into rehab, joining a seemingly endless parade of Disney starlets into the tabloids. There was former Mouseketeer Britney Spears' meltdown, Vanessa Hudgens' nude photos, Miley Cyrus' dirty dancing, and Lindsay Lohan's run-ins with the law. And now Lovato, the "Camp Rock" and "Sonny With a Chance" star who was discovered at age 8, has dropped out of the Jonas Brothers' tour to deal with "emotional and physical issues." Is the Mouse House to blame? (Watch an NBC report about Lovato's rehab stint)
Yes, Disney puts girls under too much pressure: Lovato has her own personal demons, says Mandy Stadtmiller at the New York Post, which reportedly have included eating disorders and cutting herself (which her publicists deny). But the "high-pressure world of Disney" surely "accelerated her downfall." Disney packages its princesses as sexy adults, "when, in reality, they are still little girls, growing up far too fast."
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