Christy Carlson Romano says Shia LaBeouf regularly criticized Hilary Duff’s Lizzie McGuire while they were costars on Even Stevens.
The actress recalled those comments during the October 20 episode of The Joe Vulpis Podcast.
Romano played Ren Stevens, the organized older sister of LaBeouf’s mischievous Louis, on the Disney Channel comedy. The series ran for three seasons from 2000 to 2003.
She has been revisiting her childhood career while promoting Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Fall and Rise of a Child Star, her memoir published October 6.
Romano Says Hilary Duff ‘Had No Clue’
View this post on Instagram
Asked about Nickelodeon, Romano said Disney’s young performers did not have personal disputes with the rival network’s actors. She remembered the competition for ratings being stronger between shows on Disney Channel itself.
“Hilary had no clue about that,” she said of LaBeouf’s comments, according to PEOPLE. “I’m sure she was doing her own thing.”
Romano recalled questioning why he was criticizing a production they knew little about.
“He wanted to be the number one show on the network,” she said. “He had to be the number one show because I think his life depended on that show doing well.”
She connected that urgency to what she described as his difficult upbringing.
‘Cadet Kelly’ Brought Romano and Duff Together
Lizzie McGuire premiered in 2001, following Duff’s character through middle school and using an animated version of Lizzie to express thoughts she kept to herself.
Disney also paired the two actresses in Cadet Kelly, which premiered in March 2002. Duff played Kelly Collins, a teenager adjusting to military school after her mother remarried, while Romano portrayed the demanding Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone.
Both sitcoms received movie follow-ups in 2003. The Even Stevens Movie premiered on Disney Channel, while The Lizzie McGuire Movie brought Duff’s character to theaters.
Romano Says She and LaBeouf No Longer Speak
In the full interview, Vulpis also asked whether Romano still communicates with her former onscreen brother.
“No, we don’t talk,” she answered.
Romano acknowledged that they had influenced each other during childhood, but said she did not particularly want to reconnect. She compared the relationship to knowing someone from high school whose life you can follow without maintaining a friendship.
She nevertheless expressed goodwill toward LaBeouf, saying she roots for him when good things happen and prays for him when things go badly.
A Letter Put Their ‘Even Stevens’ Salaries Side by Side
In a separate October 9 Instagram post, Romano shared a letter her mother, Sharon, wrote to her agent in 2000 asking for equal pay. According to Entertainment Weekly, it listed Romano’s salary at $6,000 per episode and LaBeouf’s at $12,000.
Romano described the two actors as co-leads with the same amount of screen time. She said she discovered the document while sorting through old photographs and letters for her book.
The letter also described her family’s financial difficulties. Romano said her earnings were supporting the household, leaving her mother to advocate both for her daughter and for a family that depended on a teenager’s income.
“Shia earned every dollar,” Romano wrote.
She explained that it had taken years to appreciate her mother’s efforts while also recognizing how much she wished she could simply have been a child.
Entertainment Weekly said it had contacted Disney and LaBeouf for comment on the salary claims.