Most people remember a Disney movie back in the 1990's portraying two little girls who incidentally met at a summer camp and discovered they were twin sisters. This movie, The Parent Trap, starred a girl name Lindsay Lohan. This movie jump started her career and she soon starred in other hits such as Freaky Friday and Mean Girls. Unfortunately, Ms. Lohan is currently known for her bad ways, numerous rehab stints, and recent jail time. Even worse, this Disney star is not the only to have gone down a bad path.
Ask any tween who Demi Lovato is and you'll most likely get a 10 minute speech about how she's is a huge Disney starlet. Having a history in not only singing, but acting as well, Lovato has had numerous outlets available to her in order to get in contact with viewers. In 2007, she starred in a Disney Channel show, As the Bell Rings and also sang a cover of a song from the movie Enchanted for Disney Mania 6. Her real fame didn't hit though, until 2008 when she appeared opposite the Jonas brothers in a highly successful Disney channel movie, Camp Rock. Soon after the success of this movie, Lovato released an album, Don't Forget, which debuted #2 on the Billboard top 200. Her success lead her to be awarded her own show on the Disney channel in 2009, Sonny with a Chance, and in 2010 Camp Rock:2 was released. During all this, Lovato toured with the Jonas brothers, one of the members being her ex boyfriend, Nick Jonas. Things were looking bright in her future when she shocked the world with an announcement she was heading to a treatment facility in November of 2010.It was confirmed by Lovato's rep that she was seeking treatment for "emotional and physical issues." It was said that a confrentation between Lovato and another female member of the tour was what sparked her desire to see help. As always, the rumor mills started chugging away and reports of self inflicted cutting, eating disorder, drug usage, and partying ways were all beging to surface. It was with this newfound information that people began to see this Disney star in a whole different light.
Disney soon released a statement to People Magazine stating "We support Demi's decision to put her health first and we send her our best wishes." During this time, rather then abandoning the darkening star, Disney chose to stand by her and show their support to her and the bettering of her health. Disney has also decided rather than canceling her show, Sonny with a Chance, they are going to focus on another storyline within her show while he tends to her health, further proving their dedication to their stars.
While this is no where near as huge as a crisis as other companies have faced, this is a serious issue for the Disney company and their image. Disney is known for being a family friendly company and tries their best to create positive role models for their viewers. To find out one of their stars has a secret life that would be frowned upon by not only parents but most members of society in general is something extremley unnerving. The backlash that could go along with sponsoring such a person could be detramental to the company's image. I felt the way Disney handled the situation was extremely successful and classy. They showed compassion for Ms. Lovato and her current sitatuation and did their best to assure she had nothing more to worry about during her time at the treatment facility. They did not go overboard and blow this into something it didn't need to be. Instead the addressed the most important part of the issue, Lovato's health, and ignored any rumors which could have possibly fuled them. Overal, I think Disney handled this mini crisis flawlessly and wouldn't have changed their tactics one bit.
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