The actress — best known for her role as Zuri Ross on Disney Channel’s ‘Jessie’ and has over 22 million followers on TikTok — also shared what she believes are some misconceptions about child stars, and explained what she thinks is the “secret” to making a viral video.
Disney Channel alum Skai Jackson is reflecting on her experience growing up as a child star, and how her journey has made her the person she is today.
While promoting her partnership with BAND-AID with TooFab, the actress — who is best known for her role as Zuri Ross on Disney Channel’s Jessie and the spinoff series Bunk’d — explained why she’s “grateful” for her time growing up on the small screen.
“It was just my mom and I doing this together. I always feel like my mom had me very prepared, and she was very hands-on,” Jackson, 22, said when asked if there was anything she or her family knew before she got into the business. “Any type of obstacles that came in the way, she was always there to support me, and she always made sure to ask me no matter what, like, ‘Is this something that you really want to do?’ And I think it’s so important to be able to communicate that with your kid. And she never forced me to. She’s like, ‘If you want to be done tomorrow, you can.'”
“So just having a great support system like that, I feel like, is really important,” she added. “So there’s nothing that I feel like I wish I knew. But I feel like being in the industry so young has taught me a lot of things and also has given me this kind of adult mindset, which an average kid probably wouldn’t have. But I’m actually really grateful for the opportunities that I’ve gotten from being a child star and being in the industry for so long. So, it’s been pretty positive for me.”
However, the Descendants 3 star agreed that there are some misconceptions about child stars out there.
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“I wish people knew that we actually do have to put in the work, and it’s not just so easy because people just see what you see on TV, which, whether that’s a movie that’s an hour and 30 minutes or a TV show, only 30 minutes. So, they’re thinking like, ‘Oh, it’s so quick,’ and ‘It’s so fun,’ and, ‘They get to do all this.’ But it’s honestly a lot of work,” she said, adding that depending on a child’s age they can be working from 10 to 14 hours.
“And it’s so many different changes. I know that when I was filming my TV show, what you guys would see on TV wasn’t what we used to do beforehand. The script changes every single day. We’re having to memorize something, or we’re on set, and they’re like, ‘You know what? We want to change the whole scene, and you have 10 minutes to go and memorize it.’ So, it is a lot of work. And I feel like people don’t realize that because you don’t see things behind the scenes.”
Her comment come as many former child stars, particularly Nickelodeon alums, have spoken out about their negative experiences starring on the network in ID’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids, and in the weeks since.
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During her interview with TooFab, Jackson also opened up about creating content on social media, specifically TikTok, where she has over 22 million followers. When asked what she believes is the “secret” to making a viral video, she said it’s all about “being yourself.”
“Those videos go so viral, and it’s always the ones that you don’t expect to go viral that do,” Jackson told TooFab. “But I just feel like when they’re super authentic or just funny moments. I’ve even posted TikToks that I think they are just so dumb. And the next thing you know, they have about 40 million views on them, which is super crazy. But I love watching authentic videos myself. And those are always just the funniest. So those always are the ones that go viral. And that would be my advice. Just be yourself.”
She also shared her thoughts on the possibility of a TikTok ban in the US, explaining what she believes makes the app stand out from other social media platforms, such as Instagram. (TooFab spoke to Jackson before the bill, which was included in a $95 billion national security package, was passed by the Senate, and later signed by President Joe Biden.)
“Personally, I’ve learned a lot from TikTok. Of course, we have funny videos on the app, but there are a lot of educators on TikTok, whether they are doctors, lawyers, teachers, or even cooks,” Jackson said. “I’ve literally found so many things to cook on TikTok. It’s just crazy. TikTok is really educational. And I love that we have all of these people on the app being able to give advice and help each other. And you can really learn so much from it. So, I hope it doesn’t get banned because I’ve learned so much from it. And it’s not just like funny videos or creators. There’s so much going on on the platform.”
Jackson also spoke about her partnership with Band-Aid brand. When she was only five years old, she starred in a commercial for the brand, which featured its famous jingle: “I am stuck on Band-Aid brand, ’cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me!” Nearly 20 years later, she’s paying homage to her prior role by using an updated version of the jingle in a TikTok video, which you can check out above. Fans can also search for “BAND-AID® Brand jingle” on TikTok Sounds to create your own videos with the track.
She told TooFab that working with the brand again “feels like a full-circle moment.”
“This just is so crazy because I remember that day so vividly when I was a kid. I was only five, and it was so much fun because they had this cute little dog running around on set, and I was just having a blast,” she said. “It didn’t even feel like work that day. So, just fast-forward to so many years later and do it again and recreate it. This is just such a fantastic and amazing moment.”
See more from Jackson in the full interview, above.
