Emily WangMaitland Ward, the former Boy Meets World star who later became an adult film performer, revealed on Investigation Discovery's Hollywood Demons — airing April 27, 2026 — that she was treated like a "product" as a child actor and placed in "provocative positions" as a minor on set. Ward joins fellow former child stars Dan Benson and Scott Schwartz to detail what life looks like after the spotlight fades, and her testimony has reignited a sharp question: exactly how much legal protection does a young performer have in the United States in 2026?
The answer is more complicated than most parents realize.
The Coogan Law: A Strong Foundation With Significant Gaps
California's Coogan Law has been protecting child performers' earnings since 1939, when Jackie Coogan — a silent film star who earned $4 million as a child only to find his parents had spent nearly all of it — inspired landmark legislation. The law requires employers to deposit 15% of a minor's entertainment wages into a blocked trust account that parents cannot access. That money belongs to the child alone when they turn 18.
The Coogan Law was a breakthrough for its time, and it remains the strongest child performer financial protection in the country. But it was designed for the studio era — and it covers wages, not conduct.
What falls entirely outside the law's scope includes:
- On-set conduct and supervision: No federal law mandates a minimum adult-to-child ratio on entertainment sets, and studios operate under general industry conduct rules that critics say are poorly enforced
- Perpetual image rights: Once footage is shot, a production company typically holds broad rights to use it indefinitely — including outtakes and promotional clips the minor never expected to become public
- Non-disclosure agreements: Parents can sign NDAs on behalf of minor children, binding those children to silence about workplace conduct until — and sometimes beyond — adulthood
- Cross-state coverage: The Coogan Law applies in California, New York, New Mexico, and a handful of other states. Many major production locations — including Georgia, which is now the second-largest film market in the US — have no equivalent law
Ward's description of an inappropriate relationship with a 25-year-old co-star when she was 16 on The Bold and the Beautiful illustrates the conduct gap: Coogan protected her paycheck but not her working environment.
California's 2024-2026 Updates: Bigger Protections, Still Incomplete
Recent California legislation has extended protections significantly, particularly into the digital space.
In September 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1880, updating the Coogan Law to cover child influencers and digital content creators for the first time. If a parent runs an online channel in which their child appears in 30% or more of content and earns at least $1,250 per month, the law now requires 65% of the child's proportionate share to be placed in a trust account. The bill was co-sponsored and signed alongside Demi Lovato, who has spoken openly about her own experiences as a child performer.
Companion legislation, Senate Bill 764, added a broader category of protections for online content involving minors across all platforms.
In 2026, California is pushing further still. Senate Bill 1247, which had a committee hearing on April 6, would give minors the right to demand removal of content posted about them online — even when a parent originally approved it. The bill's sponsor told KPBS in March 2026: "Once privacy is lost, it's lost forever." Unlike the earlier Coogan updates, which focused on money, SB 1247 focuses on digital dignity: the right of a young person to decide what content featuring them remains publicly accessible.
Three Areas Where Young Performers Remain at Risk
Entertainment lawyers consistently flag three areas where gaps in current law leave young performers exposed, regardless of which state they work in.
Work-for-hire and perpetual rights clauses: Standard production agreements give studios broad rights to footage in perpetuity. A child can appear in a scene that ends up unused — or used in a way that was never intended — and have no legal basis to request its removal years later.
Social media promotion requirements: Increasingly, child actor contracts include clauses requiring the performer (or their family account) to post promotional content on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube. These clauses carry age-inappropriate expectations and rarely include limits on the types of content the minor must amplify.
NDAs that outlast childhood: Non-disclosure agreements signed by a guardian on behalf of a minor bind that person to silence long after they become an adult. In some states, a minor can void a contract when they turn 18 — but NDA enforceability for formerly minor signatories varies by jurisdiction and is routinely tested in litigation.
When to Consult an Entertainment Lawyer
If your child is entering any part of the entertainment or digital content industry, the moment a contract appears is the moment you need independent legal advice. A qualified entertainment lawyer can:
- Audit Coogan account provisions and verify they are correctly structured
- Renegotiate perpetual image rights clauses before any content is filmed
- Review NDA scope and duration for minor signatories
- Flag social media clauses that create inappropriate or open-ended obligations
- Ensure cross-state production agreements incorporate California-level protections even when filming elsewhere
Maitland Ward's story — now drawing renewed attention through Hollywood Demons — is not an isolated case. For every former child performer who speaks publicly, many more do not. As California's 2026 legislation moves through committee, the legal landscape is improving. But contracts are signed before laws are enforced, and the gap between what the law covers and what actually happens on set remains real.
Parents who take legal advice before signing protect not only their child's earnings but their child's future options.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
