Zendaya reveals why she had to ‘protect’ herself as a child actor: ‘I wish I was just a kid’

Zendaya had to learn to “protect” herself as a child actor.
The 27-year-old actress rose to fame in her early teens when she was cast opposite Bella Thorne in the Disney Channel sitcom ‘Shake It Up’ before going on to a glamorous Hollywood career in her later years, but she admitted that she never- Ever wished she could do that. She lived like a normal child for “a while” as she recalled feeling very “insecure” at a young age.
Speaking on the YouTube series PayOrWait, she said: “It’s a lesson you have to learn young. I was a kid who was thrown into a very adult industry where if you have a point of view or something to say If anything, it’s like ‘Okay, they’re a child.’ And the parents…it’s like…they’re just parents so you have to learn to protect yourself very quickly.
“For me, it was a lesson learned very early on – in my Disney days – little tricks and little things that I do to protect myself, or protect my peace, or protect my happiness. Could have. I think when you’re a kid in this industry, you’re very vulnerable. I wish I could have stayed a kid for a little longer, but yes, the lesson came pretty quickly. I don’t know that any special “Whether there was a moment or not, but it definitely happened at a pretty young age, I had to learn to defend myself a little bit.”
However, the ‘Dune: Part Two’ star recalled having an on-set teacher during her time on Disney Channel who she felt prioritized the child’s well-being above everything else and claimed she was “surprised” to learn that “Maybe there is someone like that. Quite unusual in the industry.
She said: “I had an amazing on-set teacher who was very firm about safety, breaks, timing, etc…she’s like an aunt to me now. Hats off to Monique!
“She became my family, but she was someone who would just advocate for the child, she would say ‘They need to take time off’, or ‘This is too dangerous, I don’t want them to do this’, or ‘ They did it ‘school!’.
“You’d be surprised how common this isn’t in this industry.”