Melissa Gilbert Criticizes Stage Parents After Death of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Actor Daveigh Chase: Child Stardom Is ‘Not a Guarantee of Dysfunction’

Actor Daveigh Chase, known for voicing Lilo in Disney's 'Lilo & Stitch' and starring in 'The Ring,' died of AIDS on June sixteenth at age thirty-five. According to Variety, fellow former child star Melissa Gilbert shared an emotional tribute on Instagram following Chase's death, reflecting on a pilot they filmed together over twenty years ago. In her post, Gilbert criticized negligent parents of child performers, arguing that childhood stardom is not inherently damaging — rather, poor parenting and exploitation fuel the dysfunction that sometimes follows young actors.

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