Keri Russell recently reflected on her time as a child star on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” and her theory about her exit from the show is anything but magical.
During an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of the podcast “Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson,” the “Diplomat” actor noted that she was on the long-running show from ages 15 to 17 — making her a few years older than some of her other famous former castmates, such as Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling and Britney Spears.
When host Jesse Tyler Ferguson asked her whether there was a “cut-off age” for cast members, Russell shared her suspicions that a double standard was at play.
“Yeah, it’s usually like, girls who look like they were sexually active,” had to leave the show, she said. “Which, probably, I was one of the firsts.”
“They were like, ‘She’s out!’” Russell added with a laugh.
The “Felicity” star then pointed out that some of her male castmates, by contrast, had stayed on the show until they were about 19 whether they were sexually active or not.
“I was like, ‘Um, by the way, I had sex with that person, so I know that they’ve had sex,’” she said, adding that “pregnant Mouseketeers aren’t on the roster.”
Russell did not share further details surrounding her exit from the series.
Representatives from Disney did not immediately return a request for comment.
Russell appeared on “The All New Mickey Mouse Club,” also known as “MMC,” which aired from 1989 to 1996. The series was one of the several reboots of the original “Mickey Mouse Club,” which debuted in 1955.
The “Americans” actor previously reflected on her “Mickey Mouse Club” experience during an interview with W Magazine last year.
She told the publication that she was the “least talented” out of the star-studded lineup.
“I was there at a time when there were a lot of famous kids there. And I say this completely truthfully: I was literally the least talented one there,” she said. “I’m not kidding. When I look at those kids, I’m like, why in the world did they pick me? Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling and Britney Spears. It was wild.”
Asked if she’d saved anything from her time on the show, Russell responded: “My sanity, my dignity. Not everyone got out alive.”
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