Dylan Sprouse “Body Shamed” by a Disney Exec, Claims a Co-Star
According to Dylan Sprouse’s television mother, Kim Rhodes, a Disney executive “with significant power,” body-shamed him as a teenager.
How Dylan Sprouse Became a Subject to Body Shame
A recent interview on Christy Carlson Romano’s podcast Vulnerable revealed to Rhodes that Dylan had been subjected to “body shame” on set by a Disney executive.
“Dylan and Cole had different body types, and Dylan was body-shamed in front of everyone,” she said to Romano.
She remembered crying,
“Someone of significant power came down to the craft service, which is where they have all the tasty food for all of those who don’t know,
and screamed at the number of donuts and said, ‘No more junk food until he looks like him again.’”
How Kim Rhodes Supported Dylan Sprouse
Kim Rhodes talks about how Dylan and Cole Sprouse, her TV sons, supported her.
Actress Kim Rhodes, who portrayed Dylan and Cole Sprouse’s mothers on Suite Life of Zack and Cody, sobbed as she recalled an instance where she had to defend one of her on-screen sons.
She “fucking lit into” the network executive who commented. Dylan’s mother responded in the only way a mother could, standing up for Dylan.
She recalled replying to the executive,
“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,‘”
Dylan Also Supported Kim Rhodes on the Set
Only a few days prior, Rhodes recalled her favorite moment from the adored Disney Channel comedy The Suite Life of Zack and Cody—the moment she was defended.
Rhodes disclosed in a podcast interview that Dylan declined to say a “fat joke” that the writers had written when she found out she was pregnant while filming.
She recalled the moment and said,
“One of my favorite memories is Dylan had a line that was a fat joke, and he just kept skipping over it. It was like in the middle of a chunk of dialogue.
So, he kept skipping this laugh line and skipping it and skipping it and skipping it.”
She further added,
“When we finally stand before the studio audience, he skips it.
The director, she said, is responsible for making the final cuts. “The executive producer screams ‘Cut,‘”
Rhodes claimed,
“He goes, ‘Cut. Dylan, say the line.’ [Dylan] goes, ‘I would not disrespect any woman that way, let alone this woman. You write something funny, and I’ll say it.‘”
She referred to Dylan and Cole as “my little men” and stated,
“‘That’s my little man. They’re both my little men, They defended me all the way through.“
And that Dylan and Cole were not just watching out for her.
“They both were very protective of everyone on set,” Kim exclaimed. “It wasn’t just me.“
About Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse
Identical twins Dylan and Cole, born 15 minutes apart, began acting at six months, appearing as infant Patrick in Brett Butler’s Grace Under Fire.
After Grace Under Fire ended, they both moved to feature films, starring as Julian in Adam Sandler’s Big Daddy and co-starring with Charlize Theron in The Astronaut’s Wife.
Even though The Suite Life of Zack and Cody made its Disney Channel debut in 2005, the twins starred in ten feature films and over 100 television episodes when they were 12.
After three seasons of television on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody from 2005 to 2008, the Sprouse twins moved on to The Suite Life on Deck, where they studied overseas.
Kim Rhodes Projects After the Sitcom
Since the show’s cancellation, Rhodes has had arcs in Colony, Criminal Minds, Supernatural, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, and Suite Life.
She most recently appeared in an arc on Kung Fu on The CW.
Standing Up For Human Rights is Real Strength!
Throughout the years they spent filming The Suite Life, and its offshoot, The Suite Life on Deck, Dylan and Rhodes supported one another. They stood up and spoke up for each others’ rights.
As it happens, on and off screen, Rhodes and the Sprouse brothers were genuinely a family. Indeed, all the examples they shared are evidence of how much they care about each other.