Bella Thorne opens up about her Disney star image
After spending years modeling throughout her childhood, Bella Thorne got her breakthrough role on “Shake It Up” on Disney. She was just 14 at the time and garnered great fame. She’s an actress, singer, songwriter and director. On Friday, Thorne released a new song titled “Shake It,” and promises two new singles and music videos on the way.
During an interview with Fox News, she said she’s been “lucky enough” to work at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She believes she’s reached a phase in her life where she’s calling the shots, and it’s exactly where she wants to be. “There are definitely a lot of pressures in the Disney eye to be so perfect and I think that’s where Disney in a sense goes wrong because they make their kids seem perfect,” Thorne reflected of her early years in the spotlight.
“Little kids growing up don’t need to see perfect people. Kids need to see real. They need to see diversity, they need to see intriguing,” Thorne said.
She said breaking free of the Disney label and sharing her most painful secrets has resulted in a deeper connection with her fans than any of her onscreen work. She has spoken candidly about her personal life. In 2018, she talked about enduring physical and sexual abuse as a child up until the age of 14. She also penned a poetry book, “The Life of a Wannabe Mogul: Mental Disarray,” touching on her family struggles. In 2019 at the age of 21, she came out as pansexual.
“People that are real talk about real things. I think that was much more important than my image. The Disney image was much less important,” Thorne added. She also noted that sharing her poetry with the world has proven to be her greatest accomplishment so far. “My life has changed in a lot of really amazing ways. Now when fans come up to me, they don’t always say, ‘I love you from this movie, that movie.’ They say, ‘Oh my God, I read your book and I connected to it so much because of this terrible time.'”
“They tell me these stories and we connect. We usually both cry a little bit, and we hug. The book has curated me these beautiful moments in time that I get to fully be in,” she said. “I feel really confident in my sexuality,” Thorne said, noting she’s grateful to have been supported “by my peers and fans” in coming out.
The entertainer shared she’s recently been contemplating starting her own lingerie line. “That s–t would be so cute!” Thorne said excitedly, adding, “I would make some good a– lingerie.” For now, she says she’ll continue focusing on “how to be better and how to do better” in 2021. Besides working on music and designing her house in her spare time she says she’s “constantly hot gluing things and attaching things that shouldn’t be attached” she plans to continue to deliver content that bring her fans joy.
“With all the terribleness we’re going through, we need it. Yeah, we need to relax a little bit and have some type of release,” she said.
