Lindsey Shaw once had a starring role on Pretty Little Liars but when times got hard, the show dropped her to fend for herself.
Lindsey Shaw Got Let Go
The actress who is also known for her role in Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide shared that she was essentially fired from the popular teen drama blaming herself for falling into a “dumb cycle” where she “didn’t look good too skinny,” but when she gained weight, she “couldn’t handle being too heavy.”
Then she jumped into the revelation that she had a drug problem. “When I had my drug problem and I was in between working on stuff, you know, I would never have to, like, address my relationship with food because I was always like, ‘Oh, I could always just go get more Adderall and be OK with it,’ so it was really hard.”
Lindsey Shaw Had It Good
The actress realized how good she had it playing Paige McCullers on Pretty Little Liars and took advantage of that by being on drugs ahead of being fired. She describes it as a “whole season of using” drugs.
She claims that all this stemmed from her trying to care about her body but overdoing it. It’s a f**king lot,” she revealed “Caring about your body can make you go all different directions, from plastic surgery to drugs to withholding any kind of s**t.”
In one of her more pivotal moments, she “gave away everything [she] cared about,” and believes this is what promoted I. Marlene King to stop working with her. She recounted the moment for listeners.
The Firing Was Savage
They say that the business is cutthroat but King came in kind of hot and maybe rightfully so.
“It was so bad. I got called into the ‘Pretty Little Liars’ creator’s office, and she was just like, ‘So, we’re gonna let you go.’ She’s like, ‘It’s not because of your acting.’ She’s like, ‘Do you have anybody to talk to?’ And I was like, ‘Um, no.’ And she’s like, ‘Well, find somebody, and we have to let you go now.”
She and her co-star Shay Mitchell shared a nutritionist and she often found herself comparing to Mitchell. “She was bringing me protein powder … and she was like, ‘Girl,’” she remembered. “Yeah, it was awful.”
She isn’t bitter though, the 10 Things I Hate About You star is actually grateful and notes that the whole process was handled with “so much care.” Thankfully, she was brought back for the final season of the show.
Lindsey Shaw Played Paige One Last Time
She admitted that she “cried harder” during her final episode in Season 5 than she had “those whole six years by myself.”
She described one of the scenes. “That scene was just us [Shaw and Mitchell’s characters] saying bye at the airport,” she added. “Finally, when it was done, we just hugged each other and let it be what it was, but my God, I’m just so appreciative for that set and for the character and for Shay.”
She continued. “They did me so right bringing me back for Season 7 and just letting me say goodbye. Like, I will just never forget that,”
Shaw is now in a better place and she is “so much happier” and enjoys “so much” about her body these days.