It has recently come to light that Dylan Sprouse had been fat-shamed as a teen by Disney executives while working on the sets of The Suite Life and Zack & Cody. This was recently revealed by Kim Rhodes, who appeared on Christy Carlson Romano’s Vulnerable podcast. In the show, she delved deep into working with the boys at the Disney show and the work culture that prevailed on the Disney show sets.
Dylan Sprouse was body-shamed as a teenager while on the sets of his Disney show
In the show, Kim Rhodes revealed that Dylan was often shamed for being fat. She shared, “Dylan and Cole had different body types. And in front of everyone, Dylan was body-shamed.” She also revealed that a Disney executive, whom she did not name, had screamed at the craft services and ordered them that there shouldn’t be any more junk food on the sets until Dylan lost weight. He wanted Dylan to look more like his brother, Cole Sprouse, who was also working in the show.
The 54-year-old actress who played the role of the mother of two, Zack & Cody, shared that this statement had infuriated her, and she defended the teenager and “f-cking lit into” a bigwig in the network. She shared, “I was like, ‘You do not have the right to say that to a child. You do not have the right to be writing for children if that is your attitude. Never again do you speak like that. Never.'” She also said, “I think that was the only time I really … advocate[d for them].”
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Revisiting when Dylan Sprouse refused to make a fat joke on co-star Kim Rhodes for the camera
Rhodes also recalled how Dylan, who is now 31, refused to make a joke about her body when she was going through a pregnancy in real life. She shared that the then-child actor was asked to say his lines when the camera started rolling.
The actress recalled, “He just kept skipping over it. It was, like, in the middle of a chunk of dialogue, so he kept skipping this laugh line. Finally, we get in front of the studio audience, and he skips it, and the executive producer screams, ‘Cut! Dylan, say the line!’ And he goes, ‘I would not disrespect any woman that way, let alone this woman. You write something funny, and I’ll say it.'”
The actor is now married to former Victoria’s Secret model Barbara Palvin. A while back, the actor posted post-gym pictures of himself that revealed his abs. He captioned the post, “Used to wear a shirt in the pool as a kid so I decided in my late twenties I wanted to change my body and become a meat head. This is my meat head post. Been a long slog but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made and I ain’t done yet.”
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