Dear Hollywood

Dear Hollywood

It’s time to expose Hollywood. Child stardom is a unique cultural phenomenon with a notoriously dark shadow. Precocious young talents skyrocket to success only to repeat horror stories of addiction, decimated fortunes, and suicide. What is behind the toddler-to-train wreck pipeline? Why hasn’t it stopped? How are you connected to it at home? Host Alyson Stoner reveals intimate firsthand accounts alongside comprehensive expertise & action plans to change entertainment and inspire your own life path and healing. Subscribe & follow @alysonstoner to join the conversation. For the FULL Story, pre-order Alyson's memoir "Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything" here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted

Episodes

Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything - Exclusive Excerpt

August 27, 2025 • 19 mins
Hear an exclusive audio excerpt from Alyson Stoner’s new book Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything. Available wherever books, ebooks, and audiobooks are sold. For more details and to purchase, follow this link:  https://bit.ly/45a7TLH Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Fresh Out of Rehab

August 21, 2025 • 8 mins
I found an old journal entry reflecting on my first audition after returning from rehab and wondering if entertainment was the path I ultimately wanted to be on... For the full story, order Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything out now: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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My Shame Connected to Sex

August 8, 2025 • 9 mins
While writing my memoir, I discovered a box of my journals that helped me tap into my old experiences. For the full story, order Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything here: bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Reading My Diary from the Set of Camp Rock

July 23, 2025 • 4 mins
What was I thinking about while on the set of Camp Rock? While writing my memoir, I discovered a box of my journals that helped me tap into my old experiences. For the full breakdown, order Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything at https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Why I Don't Want Kids

July 9, 2025 • 7 mins
While writing my memoir, I discovered a box of my journals that helped me tap into my old experiences. This entry was from when I was 19 or 20 years old and struggling with the societal pressures of having children. Pre-order Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything at: bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Game Plan to Change Hollywood

December 1, 2023 • 17 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Be first to learn more about the Artist Well-being Toolkit here: https://www.movementgenius.com/artist-wellbeing-toolkit Bring our team to your production or performance company. Email DearHollywoodPodcast@gmail.com. Bring Movement Genius to your workplace. Email hello@movementgenius.com. Thanks for tuning ...
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Creating a Celebrity Persona and Facing Stalkers

November 24, 2023 • 12 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Alyson reveals some of the risks and dangers around becoming a child celebrity, including navigating superfans, stalkers and predators encircling their life. They explore the question of whether famous children automatically have a responsibility to be a role model. Further, they name the reality of losing ...
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The Psychology of Fame

November 17, 2023 • 23 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Go to https://HelloFresh.com/dearfreshfree and use code dearfreshfree for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. If fame has addictive properties that mirror substance abuse, why would we hook a child to a “drug” that remaps their brain chemistry and alters their d...
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Kidfluencers: Behind the $8B Industry

November 10, 2023 • 15 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Is Kidfluencing the latest step on the toddler-to-trainwreck pipeline? Kidfluencing is an $8B industry that has very few protections in place for children. Whether they’re a child of family vloggers or proud parents who can’t stop “sharenting,” or they accidentally went viral for a funny video, kids are gro...
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The Truth About Influencers and Brand Deals

November 3, 2023 • 16 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Every time we scroll, we’re bombarded with ads and sponsored content. Much of this is delivered directly by social media influencers, including child influencers. In an attention economy, creators are pressured to use clickbait and sensationalism to engage viewers. However, this can have a perilous effect o...
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What it’s Really Like to Be An Influencer

October 27, 2023 • 17 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted As Alyson prepares listeners to examine Kidfluencing, they share their own personal foray into the digital media landscape at the dawn of Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. From learning the “art” of clickbait to navigating unpredictable algorithms, they ran a makeshift production company and found themselves s...
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The Truth About Social Media Platforms

October 20, 2023 • 21 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Go to HelloFresh.com/50dearfresh and use code 50dearfresh for 50% off plus free shipping! Over 95 million photos and videos are posted on Instagram daily. Some people turn content creation into a livelihood and become digital influencers. Yet, rarely do they consider the deep inner workings of the platforms...
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Stage Parents, Toxic Socialization, and Poor Life Skills

October 13, 2023 • 22 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Stereotyped as living vicariously through their children, stage parents are demanding and competitive, prizing their child as the best talent in the industry. When does a healthy parent-child relationship become harmful and controlling? Whose dream is it to pursue Hollywood if the child can hardly write the...
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Child Stars: Broken Family Dynamics

October 6, 2023 • 18 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted Hollywood notoriously rips apart families and relationships, so who would let their child get into such a wild industry? Many parents don’t realize the breadth and depth of responsibilities that befall them, including protecting their child’s image, managing their finances, understanding contracts and labor...
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The Psychology and Aftermath of Auditions

September 29, 2023 • 35 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted TW: Simulating Trauma. Out of 500,000 hopeful artists, only 205 will make it. Everyone else will face repeated rejection at auditions. So, what does a child really face when they pursue the industry? Brace yourself for the rollercoaster of learning how to play characters and bring scenes to life. Learn what...
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Why Child Stars Have Chronic Illness and Mental Health Issues

September 22, 2023 • 41 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted If you’re struggling, consider therapy with our sponsor BetterHelp. Click https://betterhelp.com/alysonstoner for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy with a licensed professional specific to your needs. TW: Child Abuse. Many child stars have come forward about having entire periods of their lives ...
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The Hunger Games: Rehab and Plastic Surgery

September 15, 2023 • 21 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted TW: Eating Disorders. Alyson shares the audition process that landed them in rehab, along with the intense journey of recovery, therapy sessions, and what happened immediately after returning to Hollywood. They discuss undergoing plastic surgery and body modification while experiencing deep inner conflict, ...
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Becoming a Product: Eating Disorders and Body Image

September 8, 2023 • 22 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted TW: Eating Disorders and Abuse. What is the impact of commercializing a child’s body as a product? What are the effects of Hollywood on a child’s body image? Alyson shares raw and intimate details of developing a severe eating disorder driven by industry pressures and protocols, intense perfectionism, fear ...
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How Hollywood Culture Leads to Narcissism

September 1, 2023 • 20 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted What happens when child performers - due to fame and the industry - accrue copious access to wealth, material luxuries, status, and power? What traits and behaviors show up? Alyson confesses to early moments that led to an inflated self-esteem, selfish behavior, and getting kicked out of a rehearsal for dis...
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The Cause and Effect of Being Owned, Controlled and Manipulated

August 25, 2023 • 24 mins
For the FULL story, preorder my memoir “Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything” here: https://bit.ly/semiwelladjusted TW: sexual violence/abuse. Hollywood was not built with children in mind, nor is it prepared to protect children on set. Alyson explores the risks and unsuitable conditions of adult workplaces and responsibilities, including a personal account of being given a cigarette as an 11-year-old on an ABC series. T...
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