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As a teenager, Maitland Ward — who first found fame as Jessica Forrester on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and later Rachel McQuire on Disney's popular '90s TV show, “Boy Meets World” — was exposed to the dark side of Hollywood that wasn't often talked about. From being placed in compromising and “sensual” positions as a teenager to quickly becoming a product of the “twisted male gaze” at such a young age, the California native has faced a wave of challenges and is now preparing to expose the trappings of a new glamor.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the former child actor, who stars in an upcoming episode of Investigation Discovery's “Hollywood Demons,” opens up about his concerns about being a man-made “product” at a young age and explained how he was able to escape social norms and make waves as an adult movie star.
“I can't speak to what Hollywood is like today because it's a very different animal than it was back when I came into it,” said Ward, 49. “Back then, I think they looked at these young actors as an asset. And I really believe that the studios, they wanted to mold and make these young actors into what they wanted to be, what they needed to be so that the audience could feel what the company was, and what they were going to feel.”
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Maitland Ward, who stars in the next episode of “Hollywood Demons,” says he was molded into a “product” as a child star. (Getty Images)
“I think it was the nature of such a factory. Because you were a product for sale, and you knew that yourself,” he continued. “I mean, I didn't think there was anything wrong at the time with anything that was really happening. I mean I felt comfortable in my own body and all my feelings and stuff, but I thought that was just me being stupid. I should be a professional. I should be part of that Hollywood machine. And that's what it really was.”
For Ward, telling his story in “Hollywood Demons” was an opportunity to release the burden he's carried all these years.
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“It was easy to tell a story when I was 16 years old now about my 16-year-old self, 17, 20, whatever, that my young man who came into the business who thought of himself as a product and didn't pay attention to the product most of the time. They wanted it for what they wanted. And then they threw it away when they didn't, many of them were young that happened to many.
“I think this show really explores that in a lot of boundaries in young Hollywood, especially in that world of the 90s and early 2000s, where women were just put in this box where you had to be this young woman, who was a virgin and a whore at the same time,” she continued. “And I hate to use those exact words, but that's what it was.”
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Ward first found fame as Jessica Forrester on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and later, Rachel McQuire on the popular '90s Disney TV show, “Boy Meets World.” (Getty Images)
“It was like the Britney Spears thing. She had to go on TV and swear she was a virgin, but she was being used offensively for her body and her gender image, and it was all like this twisted male gaze that Hollywood was just attacking everyone. Back then or you talk to people now, they were like, 'Oh, I love this thing about you, or I love things about the show.' And it's very different from what we've been told audiences want.”
Looking back on his time on “Boy Meets World,” Ward, who was 21 when he joined the cast in later seasons, said it's hard to look back on all the “upsetting and awkward situations” he was put in.
In a 2022 interview with Complex, Ward elaborated on being “sexualized” while starring on the Disney show.
WATCH: Former Disney actor Maitland Ward says young actors were treated like 'product' in Hollywood factory
“I didn't realize that the fight with food was such a kind of fetish, like, food and feet and all these things that happened. I didn't realize all the innuendos that were made in the direction of Rachel and I think that the writers, and Michael in particular, enjoyed playing with that, but then it wouldn't be on my terms,” said Ward, referring to co-creator Michael Jacobs.
Ward said he didn't think much of it at the time.
“We all thought it was normal and nobody thought anything of it,” Ward told Fox News Digital. “And I'm sure like the younger audience, like I was a kid watching that and I didn't think anything of that. But when you check, adults were creating this space and making this kind of product. It's really troubling just to see how other people have gone through the same situations.”
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Ward said that because it was forbidden to discuss any feelings of doubt at the time, he finds it liberating to be able to express his grievances and connect with others who have been put in similar situations.
Since her child glory years, Ward has found great success in the adult film industry. (Photo by Ethan Miller)
“It's like a relief to say, 'Oh, wait, you felt that way too? And you went through the same thing.' There are many things we don't know. We only see as Hollywood shows us. But [“Hollywood Demons”] He really breaks down that barrier that we have. We see everything that is happening, and it is very important that we check this, especially for the future generations, the new generation that is coming up. “
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These days, Ward – who has not only found great success in the adult film industry, but has become a champion of women breaking boundaries professionally and personally – has never felt empowered.
The actress once talked about “having sex” on “Boy Meets World.” (Photo by Albert L. Ortega)
“I think I feel really relieved after all that, just that I've just discovered a lot,” said Ward, who published his autobiography, “Rated X: How Porn Freed Me in 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 mixed.”
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“It's the story of every woman, every person who says, people tell them, 'No,' over and over again,” she added. “They tell them what they should be, how they should act. We see it in everyday life. Like any business, in any situation, people try to put women especially in this box. And it's really about finding yourself, and just finding who you are as an honest person in whatever way you want to do it.”
“Hollywood Demons: Child Stars Gone Wild” premieres Monday, April 27 on Investigation Discovery. Episodes are available to stream on HBO Max.
