Category: Youth Culture

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Before she was “the cheerleader” on the hit show Heroes… before she was releasing music videos, I interviewed Hayden Panettiere and we had a conversation about celebrities as mentors- the way celebrities dress and behave themselves. At the time she told me that she’d like to stay away from being known as a “sex vixon,” instead being known as “classy.”

I think her new music video just exited “classy” and took the “sex vixon” onramp. (what the heck was the whole “pulling up her jeans” thing at :58 seconds??? Note the lyrics shortly after.)

 Here’s a peice of my October 19, 2004 conversation with Hayden.

JONATHAN: …Now tell me something. As you see other teen actors or musicians… Hillary Duff, the Olsen twins, Lindsey Lohan … Some of these girls are turning 18. There is an image that goes along with them; we’ve seen some of the same trends. What makes you different from these people?

HAYDEN: I think that they’ve got to do their own thing and I got to do mine. I want to be Hayden. I don’t want to be them. I don’t want people to think that I look like them, that I act like them, or that I dress like them. I am me and they’re them. I want to be separate. I have met them and they have always been nothing but sweet to me and I adore them … but I want to be myself. I want to do things differently.

JONATHAN: That’s neat. Now, I study the trends that kids follow and one of the biggest influence on kid’s lives these days is the media. Kids are looking at teen magazines and seeing celebrities like the ones you mentioned: The Olsons, Lindsey, Hilary … to see what they are doing. We have noticed, that as these celebrities grow up, some of them often change from “Mickey Mouse Club” to “sex vixon” …

HAYDEN: I definitely want to stay away from that. I don’t think that I would ever be the type of person that would go to a premier with tight tiny, tiny mini skirt and like a bikini top.

JONATHAN: Let’s talk about dressing for premiers for a second. For example you’ve got Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries I and II, Ella Enchanted) … when she showed up to the School of Rock premier, she’s got this see through top on. I mean she might as well not even wear a top. Now, my daughters are 7 and 9 and they loved her in her films. And I’m thankful that they never saw the pictures from that premiere. Where do you …

HAYDEN: Personally, I am too shy. I don’t think that I could ever do that. But I think I might, you know, wear like a little belly shirt once and a while or something like that. You know, if you have the stomach for it. I wouldn’t at my age.

JONATHAN: Some other actresses and musicians have shown up on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing very little or at movie premiers with dresses that ‘shock.’ Some are highly critical of this kind of thing, others defend it. I would think that there’s a line that exists somewhere of ‘what you do and don’t do.’ Where do you draw that line?

HAYDEN: I think everyone has the freedom to wear what they want and do what they want to do. But I think they should consider what everyone else will think. Rolling Stone can be a “sexy magazine.” Personally, I wouldn’t do anything like that. I do draw the line at certain things like, ‘that skirts getting a little too short’ or ‘that top’s getting a little too tiny …’

JONATHAN: Sure.

HAYDEN: … and the clothes get less and less and when you wear certain things … I don’t want to judge anyone—they can wear what they want to wear, but I’m going to wear more conservative clothes or something a little more classy.

JONATHAN: I guess the bottom line is this: As you get, older, more popular and get even more roles, and if you know that your poster is going to be on the walls of little 8 year old girls across the country … would that make you think? Is there a responsibility that comes with this? Are you now a mentor?

HAYDEN: Personally, I think so. But for me- dressing raunchy is just not who I am. I am a little scared to say that’s not who I am, because I definitely have a rebellious side along with my more conservative side, but I would never show that through the way I dress. I can be rebellious through other ways than ‘wearing less clothes.’ It doesn’t prove that I’m more rebellious just because I wear less clothes and feel the need to walk around like that.

JONATHAN: What do you want to be known for?

HAYDEN: I’d like to be known as classy.

JONATHAN: What do you NOT want to be known for?

HAYDEN: I don’t want to be known as a party animal, or dressing trashy or …

JONATHAN: You want to be remembered for your talents and abilities rather than, “Hey, she’s the one that got caught on video doing … whatever!”

HAYDEN: Absolutely.

Sigh.

Here’s my entire 2004 interview with her.

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Everyone knew it would be big… the question was, How big? I’m, of course, talking about Disney Channel’s Friday night debut of their “original movie” Camp Rock, starring none other than the Jonas Brothers (more on that boy band made up of preacher’s kids here).

I speculated about it a little bit in my Saturday blog with a few facts about it’s release. Some people even piped in saying that it wasn’t as good as HSM or HSM2 (please don’t make me type out High School Musical). It will be interesting to listen to what kids are saying. My daughters (10 and 12) watched it and said that it was, and I quote, “Waaaaaaaaaay better than HSM or HSM2.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because the music was better… and the Jonas brothers were in it. I don’t know. It was just waaaaaaaay better!”

Hollywood Reporter chimes in with more about the debut:

Disney Channel’s Jonas Brothers movie “Camp Rock” debuted big Friday night, though it didn’t match last year’s record-setting “High School Musical 2.”

“Camp Rock,” which features a slew of musical performances, averaged 8.9 million total viewers at 8-10 p.m. Friday, making it the network’s No. 2 most-watched original movie ever behind “HSM 2,” according to Nielsen. “Camp Rock” pulled in about half of that movie’s audience (17.2 million) in its Aug. 17 premiere.

However, “Camp Rock” did rank as the network’s most-watched nonsequel movie ever, outperforming the original “HSM,” which debuted in January 2006 to 7.7 million viewers, and other original movies like “Jump In!” which averaged 8.2 million in January 2007.

I’m just happy that kids were watching something clean!