Dakota Fanning has admitted she’s still shocked by the “super inappropriate” questions she was asked when she was a child star.
The 30-year-old actress, who rose to fame after starring in the 2001 film I Am Sam, recalled several awkward interviews with journalists, who she said asked her awkward questions, such as how she planned to “avoid becoming a tabloid girl.” ‘
“People were asking super inappropriate questions,” the artist told The Cut. “When I was a kid I was in an interview and someone asked me, ‘How do you have friends?’ It’s like, “Huh?”
While saluting stars like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Drew Barrymore, Fanning said she has “a lot of compassion for people who have been made examples.”
‘If society and the media had not done their part, who knows? I don’t think it’s necessarily 100 percent related to being in this business; There are other factors too,” he explained.
Dakota Fanning admitted she’s still shocked by the “super inappropriate” questions she was asked when she was a child star; seen last month
She went on to praise her loved ones for always standing by her and supporting her through the process.
“My family is made up of very kind, kind, protective people,” he said. ‘I have a mother who taught me how to treat others and also how to treat myself. And she was there every second. They always treated me with respect.’
On set, she said she was lucky to always be “respected as an actress and as an equal.”
‘Looking back on my life, my career is a very present part of it, but I also think a lot about childhood memories. My life doesn’t seem disproportionate to work and I’m very grateful for that. I’m there doing work that matters,’ she said enthusiastically.
When asked by the publication about the fallen child actor trope, Fanning admitted that she had sometimes wondered, ‘Is that what you want to happen to me in some way?’ Is that what you want to happen to these people? I’ve definitely felt this kind of vibe from people who almost want me to fail or something.’
‘It makes you feel a little cautious. I’m just living my life here. “I think I was also too young to fully realize it,” he continued. “People couldn’t get away with that kind of stuff anymore. By the time I got to that age, it was recognized that it was probably not the best way to treat people.’
Later in the interview, he reflected on how different the media was from “the early 2000s.”
“It’s crazy that it was completely normal to talk about someone’s cellulite back then,” he marveled. “It was scandalous then, obviously, but now it’s just unacceptable, so I’m happy that doesn’t happen as often anymore.” I mean, there are still pressures, different pressures, but I think there’s more freedom to just be a damn person.
The 30-year-old actress, who rose to fame after starring in the 2001 film I Am Sam, recalled several awkward interviews with journalists, who she said asked her awkward questions, such as how she planned to “avoid becoming a tabloid girl.” (pictured in 2005)
“People were asking super inappropriate questions,” the artist told The Cut. “When I was a kid I was in an interview and someone asked me, ‘How do you have friends?’ It’s like, “Huh?” (seen with Brittany Murphy in 2003)
As for the advice she would give her younger self, Fanning said, “I don’t look back and regret it.”
“I’m very happy with who I was then,” he explained. ‘I never let public perception or anything like that really influence the decisions I made, and I just tried to stay true to myself. I’m pretty proud of my past self.’
In 2019, she previously said Goalie that she ‘made mistakes…but in private’.
“The hard part about starting out so young, which I’ve come to totally accept, is that when you grow up and become a woman, people think you’re younger,” she said.
Dakota, who has starred in more than 44 films since she was six years old, revealed that turning 21 “was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders” because there was enormous pressure for the star to “make no mistake” in front of the public.
While saluting stars like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Drew Barrymore, Fanning said she has “a lot of compassion for people who have been made examples” (seen in 2024).
She said: ‘Turning 21 for me was really liberating. Before that, things could be scary… I’d go to a gala dinner and all the glasses were already full of wine and I’d hold one up to toast and (people said), she’s drinking wine!
‘No, I wasn’t! Stupid little things like that. I mean, I’d been to bars and clubs when someone was having a premiere after-party, but I’d never crashed.
“I had never gone anywhere I wasn’t supposed to go. I felt like there were a lot of expectations that I wouldn’t make a mistake. Which might have driven me crazy, because it’s outrageous to say that to a younger person who’s supposed to make mistakes.
And I have certainly made mistakes, but only in private. When I turned 21 I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders; “I felt more freedom to do my own thing.”
In 2019, he previously told PorterEdit that he “made mistakes… but in private.”
Dakota, who has a slew of film roles under her belt, including the younger version of Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama, admitted that her parents never pressured her to pursue acting.
She said: ‘I knew I wanted to act since I was six. But they never forced me to do anything. (…) That’s why I hate it when people imply that they pushed me to do something.’
