In the 1930s, Shirley Temple took the west by storm. Her first feature Film, “Bright Eyes”, thrust her into the spotlight. As a child, she literally earned MILLIONS through movies, advertisements, appearances, and TV shows. Fasting forward to the end of 2016, Danielle Bregoli was featured on the Dr. Phil show as a child gone off the rails, keyword “child”. Upon the airing of this episode, Danielle was 13 years old. To better understand why she is the Shirley Temple of 2017, we must first look into her life post-Dr. Phil.

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Cach Me Outsigh, How ‘Bout Dat

We all know the unforgettable moment where Danielle threatened the audience with this coined phrase. This iconic meme exploded onto the scene sparking remixes, apparel, and more. Dr. Phil immediately tried capitalizing on this fame by having her re-appear on the show, cloaked as an attempt to help her. In this second appearance, Danielle snapped, “I made you just like Oprah made you”.
*Internally, Dr. Phil smiled. That was just the viral clip he needed.

The phrase “Cach Me Outsigh, How ‘Bout Dat” was remixed. This clip made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, Streaming #Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. She was also nominated for a 2017 MTV Movie & TV Award. Can you imagine the sense of invincibility a fourteen-year-old would feel? Well…

Trouble with the Law

Amid viral videos of her threatening “haters” and reports of her use of Xanax (while under her mother’s supervision), Danielle pled guilty to grand theft, grand theft auto, possession of marijuana, and filing a false report in June 2017.

As a result, she was sentenced to five years of probation until the age 19 YEARS. As part of her probation, she must abide by a 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew (with her mother…), 100 hours of community service, and attend school full-time. Meanwhile, others her age were wrapping up middle school.

Bhad Bhabie

Her managers then found another avenue to exploit her. On August 26, 2017, she released her first single “These Heaux” under the name Bhad Bhabie. Not only did it chart in the Billboard Hot 100, making her the youngest female rapper to chart, but it landed her a multi-album recording contract with Atlantic Records, worth #millions.

The Relation

Now how does this equate to Shirley Temple? Like her counterpart, Danielle is being exploited as a child for our entertainment. I would even argue that she is the 2017 Shirley Temple because she is conforming to our current standards of #entertainment. Catchy jingles and cute dance routines have given way to vulgar raps and off-the-handle clap backs.

Even worse, her whole life is an effort to keep up her destructive persona. Her livelihood and probably self-esteem is tied to being a mess. It is disgusting that we, as a society, are creating such a terrible situation.

We are literally stripping her youth and ruining her life for a few laughs. She is coaxed to perform in activities inappropriate for a thirteen/ fourteen-year-old and reflects someone five years her senior. In my eyes, the adults in her life allowing this is engaging in a form of child abuse. She needs help.

Why is it that we have child labor laws, but it is completely lawful for Danielle and those like her to work? And as mentioned before, since she is a socialite, Danielle is even working when she is merely walking down the street. Even if these child stars “want” to work, we are ignoring the pressures from guardians or society they may face, not to mention the validity of a child making big life decisions. We always say the age of consent is 18, but for some reason it does not apply here.

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• What do you guys think about the situation?

• Do you think children should be restricted from working in the entertainment industry?