I was a Disney princess — it was traumatizing and there was dating drama

2023-04-25

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Disney World is often regarded as the "happiest place on Earth" but one former Disney princess has claimed it was "traumatising" to work there.

Ex-Disney Princess Hunter Haag, who played both Belle and Rapunzel at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, claims cast members had to follow strict rules on their appearance and were even subject to regular body checks to make sure they were "fit and slender" enough.

The 30-year-old, who has also appeared as a contestant on The Bachelor, claimed the characters were often treated like "zoo animals" by visitors and a toxic work environment meant employees would often "sabotage" each other.

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Haag worked at the resort from 2016 to 2021, when she said she was "laid off due to Covid", and recently took to TikTok to detail what her time there was like.

In a video addressing the "traumatic and not-so-great" parts of the job, Haag started by revealing she had to keep her role a secret.

She said: "If somebody asks you what you do I would say something like 'Oh I work in merchandising in Adventureland' because they can't know you're a character."

Haag went on to claim that the focus on your physical appearance as a Disney princess can be "traumatizing".

She said: "The audition process in itself is traumatizing because it's based solely off your looks, you literally stand in a line with however many hundreds of other people and just look at casting and they look right back at you and that is it."

Haag added: "Every eight months we would get checked to make sure that we still fit the character profile, meaning that we still look young enough to look like the character we're portraying and that we still have the same silhouette we did as when we were hired.

"Your silhouette is your body and they want to make sure that you're still fit enough or slender enough."

Fail the check and Haag claimed you can be given a disapproval — meaning you're fired from playing the character.

She said this type of strict requirement can encourage eating disorders and other mental health issues.

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"Eating disorders, depression, anxiety — I'm not saying that the job causes any of those things but I will say it can be a trigger for them because we are having to watch our weight so it could be a trigger for people who do struggle with an eating disorder."

But weight wasn't the only strict rule based on her appearance she said she had to follow.

"No tattoos, no extra piercings and no tan lines allowed, oh and also no nail colours", Haag said.

She added: "It's even as intense to the point where if you get in a car accident and you get a laceration on your face that leaves a scar you can also have a temporary disapproval because that doesn't fit the character profile."

She said the costumes the princesses have to wear can even cause physical injuries.

"The job is also physically and mentally exhausting. The costumes are very very heavy and can cause issues like Rapunzel's wig actually gave me neck problems," she explained.

Mentally, she said it can be tough as a Disney princess because you have to "be happy 100% of the time."

She added: "I was going through a seven-year relationship breakup and I had to sit there and celebrate with people who were just getting engaged to their significant others."

Hunter revealed guests can also "be a little rude sometimes", saying: "We're also tugged on a bit and treated like zoo animals sometimes but of course, the good interactions outweigh the bad."

She added: "There are also inappropriate guests that like to say weird things to the princesses."

She said it can get tense between the cast members who "talk badly" about each other and will even try to "sabotage" other employees for a chance at getting the character they want.

But as well as the fall-outs, there's also romance between the characters in real life.

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In a video discussing the dating culture, Haag said: "There was a lot of romance in between the characters, I actually know a lot of couples who have been engaged, have been married and who have had babies together and a lot of them are like Prince Charming and Cinderella and Flynn and Rapunzel."

But she warned finding a prince wasn't quite like the fairytales.

She explained: "There's also a lot of drama as far as dating goes. Within entertainment, it's kind of a rule we make for ourselves, never date a prince.

"I think it's because whenever there's a prince who's new people will call dibs on them and you just don't want to be involved, plus the fact that they have a lot of options and they have a lot of really beautiful women around them."

Disney were repeatedly approached for comment but did not respond.

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