Melissa Gilbert bashed Daveigh Chase’s “stage parents” as she reacted to the former child star’s tragic death on Monday.
In an emotional Instagram tribute, Gilbert remembered Chase as “bubbly, sweet and professional” when they worked together over 20 years ago on an unaired TV pilot.
“But there was something else there, a push or need to perform …for her parents,” Gilbert, 62, added.
The “Little House on the Prairie” alum noted that some former child actors, such as herself, “grow up just fine” thanks to “really solid, wise parenting,” but others see their lives fall apart when their parents “lose sight of what their true responsibility is.”
“Today, reading the circumstances of Daveigh’s death, I’m truly heartbroken,” Gilbert wrote. “I certainly understand substance addiction disorder, but this sweet girl’s death is so much more.”
In a desperate plea, Gilbert told parents to only allow their kids to work in the entertainment industry if “they are doing it for the right reasons.”
“To be sure it’s something the child really wants,” she continued. “To be sure that that child has a life outside of the industry that is thriving and full of friends and responsibilities and ‘normal’ things.”
Gilbert, whose post included a picture of Chase, concluded her message by telling stage parents to “memorize this sweet girl’s face and her story so that it never happens again.”
Chase died June 16 at age 35 after she was diagnosed with meningitis and several “serious” blood infections that turned her body septic, according to her boyfriend Roy Hernandez.
Her cause of death was revealed to be AIDS, with chronic polysubstance use — described as the use of more than one drug in a short period of time — listed as a contributing factor.
Chase had reportedly been living near Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row before her passing.
In the days leading up to her death, Hernandez had created a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the late actress “find comfort and peace.”
At the time of the campaign’s creation, Chase’s condition had “become critical,” with doctors telling Hernandez “she may not have much time left.”
Chase’s mom, Cathy Chase, was stunned and “devastated” over her daughter’s tragic death.
“I let out this guttural scream and I just was running,” she told the Daily Mail earlier this month. “And these weird sounds were coming out of me, these kind of, like, primeval sounds.”
Chase was best known for starring in the Disney film “Lilo & Stitch” and the horror movie “The Ring,” the latter of which earned her an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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