Christy Carlson Romano has caught the attention of Disney millennials by posting shade against her former “Even Stevens” co-star Shia LaBeouf, adding fuel to the claims of an apparent rift between the two actors. Romano said LaBeouf does not “deserve” to be on the Mount Rushmore of Disney icons.
“Shia doesn’t deserve to be on the Rushmore. I’ll be writing a substack on this so you can understand why,” Romano wrote in a since-deleted X post that was reviewed by Entertainment Weekly.
Variety has reached out to Romano’s manager for additional comment.
Who former Disney stars would put on their list of the network’s most iconic actors has become a popular talking point on social media ever since “That’s So Raven” star Raven-Symoné was asked who she’d put on her Disney Mount Rushmore earlier this month. She selected LaBeouf as one of her picks alongside the likes of “Lizzie McGuire” favorite Hilary Duff. “Camp Rock” star Demi Lovato was then asked the same question in a different interview. She agreed on Duff and said Raven-Symoné would also be on her Mount Rushmore. But when it came to platforming LaBeouf, Lovato said: “Eh, I’m okay on that one. We can pass.”
Lovato’s viral response seemingly inspired Romano to weigh in with her thoughts that her “Even Stevens” co-star “doesn’t deserve to be on the Rushmore.” She posted on X the day prior: “This Mount Rushmore thing is just pissing me off now.”
The two actors played siblings Ren and Louis Stevens on all three seasons and 65 episodes of the Disney Channel series, which ran from 2000 to 2003 and was one of the network’s biggest hits. The show’s series finale was a movie, 2003’s “The Even Stevens Movie.”
Romano previously hinted at a rift with LaBeouf in 2021 when she shared: “I’m honored that people would think I’d still be in touch with him, because it means that we did a really good job of making you think we were real life brother and sister. But in reality, it just wasn’t like that.” She also said she felt “jilted” when LaBeouf “thanked everybody at the table but he didn’t thank me” when he won a 2003 Daytime Emmy for outstanding performer in a children’s series.
LaBeouf has had a history of erratic behavior and legal issues over the last few years, including a lawsuit filed against him by FKA Twigs alleging sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit was settled in July of last year. Prior to that, LaBeouf was court-ordered to attend rehab following a 2017 arrest in Georgia for public intoxication and disorderly conduct. He most recently made headlines for being arrested while at Mardi Gras in New Orleans last month.
“My behavior… I gotta deal with that. Does that mean I gotta go to rehab again? I’m just not into it, bro,” LaBeouf said in an interview after his arrest with Andrew Callaghan’s Channel 5. “I don’t think my answers are there. I don’t. I really, genuinely, don’t. If I genuinely did, I’d go. I don’t think I have a drinking problem… I think I have a different problem, and I’m gonna address it. I think I have a small man complex.”