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N SEPTEMBER 16,
just hours after
26-year-old actress
Amanda Bynes was
stopped by police and cited for
driving on a suspended license (her
6th incident of reckless driving in
five months), fellow former childstar-turned-road-menace Lindsay
Lohan decided she’d seen enough.
“Why did I get put in jail and
a nickelodeon star has had NO
punishment(s) so far?” Lohan
complained to her 4.3 million
fans via Twitter.
Bynes and Lohan are products
of the two largest child-star factories in America. Bynes made
her name on Nickelodeon, getting
her start on the variety show All
That, eventually earning top billing on her own series, The Amanda Show, which ran from 1999 to
2002. Lohan is a Disney creation,
with film credits ranging from
1998’s The Parent Trap to 2005’s
Herbie: Fully Reloaded.
By now, however, both actresses
are better known for their runins with the law. Lohan has faced
a range of charges over the years,
including DUI, misdemeanor possession and grand theft, while
Bynes has racked up two DUIs
and two hit-and-runs during her
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more recent downward spiral. But
they’re hardly the only veterans of
the two childrens’ entertainment
empires to mess up in public: Miley Cyrus (Disney) was caught
smoking salvia, Jamie Lynn Spears
(Nickelodeon) got pregnant at 16,
Shia LaBeouf (Disney) and Ryan
Rottman (Nickelodeon) were
Why did I get put in jail
and a nickelodeon star has had
NO punishment(s) so far?”
— Lindsay Lohan on Twitter
charged with drunk driving, while
Demi Lovato (Disney) and Matthew Underwood (Nickelodeon)
have struggled with drugs.
In an effort to ward off future
generations of trainwrecks, Disney
and Nickelodeon have both instituted orientation programs designed to prepare young performers
for the vicissitudes of fame. Disney
launched its program, Talent 101,
only recently in 2007, shortly after
a nude photo of High School Musical actress Vanessa Hudgens hit
the internet. Modeled in part on
the NBA’s Rookie Transition Program, the course requires incoming
talent, as well as their parents and