This is a bit of a hot-button issue since the truth is that some child stars have it rough and aren’t simply looking for publicity to kickstart a career that might have peaked when they were still young. With Rivkah Reyes, an alum from the movie School of Rock, it’s kind of hard to say that the substance abuse and bullying that was the result of Reyes’ fame was the only real problem since the fans are only ever made privy to parts of the story and not the whole thing. There’s no doubt that Reyes was probably bullied and there’s no reason to doubt that the stalking and creepy behavior that Rivkah experienced was entirely real, but there’s also the idea that if there was someone there to take care of Rivkah then it’s likely that life might have gone a bit differently. It’s too easy to talk without having experienced any of the issues that are present in this case, but it’s also very easy to state that there are many child actors out there that have either taken on a role and, upon completing it, decided to call it good and not come back. There are plenty more that stuck it out and continued to ascend in their career, while there are also plenty who have gone nowhere but have done their best to maintain their fame.
If there’s any lesson to be taken from this, it’s that not every child star is going to find success in the manner that they want, no matter their expectations or the promises that are made when they’re younger. Rivkah no doubt had every intention of moving on from School of Rock, but the pressure and the aftermath that came from the movie, in Reyes’ experience, was great enough that it might have been best to bow out for a while until people had forgotten their involvement and focus on being a kid while attempting to hone those acting skills in a high school drama class rather than go through the different levels of abuse that would eventually be noticed by those seeking another story to tell. It sounds kind of harsh and dismissive, doesn’t it? The reason is simple: Rivkah is not the only one that has been treated poorly on their way up, and it’s likely that they won’t be the last. For one reason or another, there are people out there that are creepy, ill-tempered, and many of them are kids that still don’t have the full set of social skills, which leads many to somehow believe that bullying is okay until it happens to them. It might sound controversial, but it feels as though there’s too much about this story that we’re not hearing to get fully on board with the idea that Rivkah had nothing to help with the addiction and bullying that resulted from their role in School of Rock.
The reason for the statement is that addiction takes many forms and can be caused by many things that people take for granted. But everything has a solution, no matter how hopeless it might appear to be, which means that the bullying, the insanely creepy stalking, and anything else that went wrong with Reyes’ life at that point should have been able to be alleviated by therapy, counseling, support from family and friends, and the type of attention that might appear smothering but is there to help keep addictions at bay. Of course, the common explanation used is that only the individual can break free of their addiction, and there’s not much argument against this. But again, there’s still not enough known when it comes to Reyes’ situation other than what has been said, all of which is able to be remedied by people being there for them in their time of need. If this isn’t possible, then addiction becomes even more serious since it’s entirely possible to lose oneself in addiction if there’s no grounding point to be found. No one is about to state that Rivkah is lying about her circumstances, but it feels as though not everything is being revealed, which is fairly common since either due to embarrassment, shame, or something else, it’s far too likely that an addict, especially a celebrity, won’t reveal everything to save their image in some critical manner. There are other explanations as well to be certain, but without knowing everything about what’s going on, it’s difficult to feel entirely empathetic.
What is a positive note to this otherwise troubling story is that Rivkah did finally get help to overcome her addiction, and is reportedly doing okay now as she chose to get back into acting and make another go of it. How far she’ll go is anyone’s guess, but as of now, she’s staying busy, so that’s a plus.
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