Christy Carlson Romano has revealed that her “Even Stevens” co-star Shia LaBeouf harbored a secret rivalry with Hilary Duff’s hit Disney Channel series “Lizzie McGuire.”
Romano, 42, made the disclosure during a recent appearance on “The Joe Vulpis Podcast,” where she described LaBeouf, 40, as relentlessly competitive during their time on the network. The two actors played siblings Ren and Louis Stevens on “Even Stevens,” which ran from 2000 to 2003 and frequently competed with Duff’s “Lizzie McGuire” for ratings dominance.
“He wanted to be the number one show,” Romano said of LaBeouf’s fixation on outperforming the rival series. She recalled that he would regularly disparage “Lizzie McGuire” behind the scenes, though Duff herself remained unaware of the animosity. “Hilary had no clue about that,” Romano noted. “I’m sure she was doing her own thing, but he would always be kind of like trash-talking Lizzie McGuire.”
Romano attributed LaBeouf’s intense drive to his difficult personal circumstances at the time. “He had to be the number one show because I think his life depended on that show doing well,” she explained. “He had a rough upbringing and I think, like, he needed that show to do well for him.” She characterized him bluntly as “very competitive” and said his behavior toward the competing series was consistent rather than occasional.
The actress has been making the media rounds to promote her memoir, “Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Rise and Fall of a Child Star,” which was released Oct. 6. The book includes her account of the significant pay disparity between herself and LaBeouf during their “Even Stevens” tenure.
Earlier this month, Romano took to Instagram to share documentation of the wage gap. She posted a throwback photo featuring herself, LaBeouf and her mother, Sharon, alongside the caption: “I was a kid and the female lead on ‘Even Stevens.’ I was paid half of what Shia was paid; we were co-leads and had the same screen time.” She also published a letter her mother had sent to her agent in 2000, which revealed LaBeouf was earning $12,000 per episode while she received $6,000.
Despite the disparity, Romano has maintained that LaBeouf deserved his higher salary. “He earned every dollar,” she has said. She has also emphasized that her memoir’s focus extends beyond any individual co-star. “They were part of my story. They were never the story,” she stated. “The story is a girl who grew up too fast and a business that decided she was worth half.”
Romano’s relationship with LaBeouf today is effectively nonexistent, a situation she appears comfortable maintaining. “I don’t really want to talk to him … I’m fine with it,” she said on the podcast. She added that she maintains a distant well-wishing for his life outcomes: “When good stuff happens to him, I root for him. If bad stuff happens, I pray for him. But at the same time, like, I don’t need to know him.”
The “Lizzie McGuire” rivalry revelation comes as Romano continues to draw attention for her unvarnished accounts of child stardom. Her podcast appearance and memoir promotion have generated renewed interest in the behind-the-scenes dynamics of Disney Channel’s early-2000s programming slate, when “Even Stevens” and “Lizzie McGuire” represented two of the network’s most successful franchises.
The two shows premiered within a year of each other and helped define an era of Disney Channel programming, with “Lizzie McGuire” ultimately running for 65 episodes and spawning a theatrical film, while “Even Stevens” concluded after 65 episodes and its own movie. Duff’s series became a cultural phenomenon that launched her into music and continued acting careers, while LaBeouf transitioned to blockbuster films and later independent and avant-garde projects.
Romano’s comments mark one of the first detailed public accounts of inter-show rivalry during Disney Channel’s competitive peak, when multiple series vied for the network’s preteen audience.
Romano is scheduled to continue her memoir promotional tour with additional interviews and appearances in the coming weeks.