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Former Disney star turned adult entertainer says she gets more respect now
Maitland Ward at the popup VIxen store in Vegas
The actress says people, especially in Hollywood, are treating her with more respect than ever.
For years, Maitland Ward was best known for her role as Rachel McGuire on Boy Meets World. However, since making the leap into adult films in 2019, the former Disney star says her career shift has led to more respect—both in Hollywood and beyond.
“I really think people treat me with more respect now, honestly, especially even in Hollywood right now,” Ward toldFox News Digital. “I’m pitchingmy memoir into a TV format and talking with people. They’re so respectful, and they’re so positive about my story, especially younger people and different people that I speak to in Hollywood and stuff.”
While some might expect backlash from transitioning from a Disney-backed sitcom to adult entertainment, Ward insists the reaction has been overwhelmingly supportive.
“I didn’t get anybody coming out hating me for it or anything,” she said. “I really got a lot of positivity overall, which shocked everyone I knew. Everybody thought people were just going to rip me apart, and I was going to be judged and raked across the coals, but I got so much positivity.”
Ward, who struggled with body image early in her career, says her experience in adult entertainment has empowered her in ways she never expected. She's also not the only Disney star to turn to adult entertainment, as Wizard's of Waverly Place actor Dan Benson turned to OnlyFans a few years ago after people sold his nudes as a way to take control of his own story. At the time, he said, “I’ve been having a tremendous amount of fun. I’ve met a lot of really great people in the adult entertainment industry and it’s changed my life for the better.”
With that said, Benson also quit the platform in February 2025, saying, "Thank you to everyone who has supported me this whole time. I might go back to acting. I might just go and try and get a normal job and disappear. Just be a normal person. I don’t really know. I hope I can remove some of the stuff that is already out there. So if you’re thinking about doing this, just be thoughtful, because I know it’s going to be really hard.”
McGuire, on the other hand, has been in the industry since 2019 and doesn't seem to have any interest in slowing down.
"Just to be naked by myself and be confident in my body and myself, I would never have been able to do that [before],” she said in the Fox News interview. “Porn has really given that to me, that empowerment, to be able to stand in my own skin, to be able to create projects that I want to create and be proud of, to go against the mold and do something that other people haven’t done or have been too scared to do and to have the courage and confidence to do that.”
Her work in the industry has also allowed her to take creative control over her career. “I’m creating full-length movies. I’m doing things like making projects that I really feel passionate about,” Ward explained. “I work with a female director, who has been amazing. And I think people are always surprised by that, that two women are creating these long erotic, pornographic art pieces. And I think that’s really special.”
Despite her past in mainstream television, Ward has made it clear that her future is fully in her own hands. “I’m able to create my own brand, my own content, the way I want to create it,” she said. And for her, that sense of control—and the respect that has come with it—is more valuable than anything she found in Hollywood.
Andrew J. Stillman is a freelance writer and yoga instructor exploring the world. Check him out at andrewjstillman.com or follow him @andrewjstillman on all the things.
Andrew J. Stillman is a freelance writer and yoga instructor exploring the world. Check him out at andrewjstillman.com or follow him @andrewjstillman on all the things.
