Shirley Temple was a child actress who became America’s sweet-heart in the 1930’s

She was the most famous and successful child star of all time, but what has become increasingly apparent is the fundamentally pedophilic appeal of her star persona.

Shirley Jane Temple was born in Santa Monica, California on April 23rd, 1928. At the age of three, Temple’s mother, Gertrude enrolled her in Meglin’s Dance School in Los Angeles where she was scouted by Charles Lamount, a casting director for the now defunct studio, Educational Pictures

The overt sexualization of Hollywood’s youngest starlet started the very moment she first appeared on camera.

In the video below, Shirley Temple talks about her experience at the MGM studio’s when she was just 12 years old.

According to Cinemasters: ” At the age of only three years old, Temple landed a role in her first feature film, The Red-Haired Alibi. Her breakthrough film would come in May of 1934 with Fox Studios’ Stand Up and Cheer! In December, she starred in Bright Eyes with James Dunn, a film written specially for her. By the end of the year, Temple had starred in ten movies, including four starring roles in major feature films. From 1932-1949, Temple starred in over forty films, for major studios such as RKO, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Fox, Paramount, Universal, and the infamous: Selznik International Pictures, which we will discuss later on. Between 1935 and 1938, Shirley Temple was the world’s top box office star, leaving Hollywood legend, Clark Gable in second place.

The overt sexualization of Hollywood’s youngest starlet began the very moment she first appeared on camera. Her first ever credited role was for a Baby Burlesks film called War Babies where she played a prostitute named Charmaine, at the age of three years old. One particular scene in the feature film, Bright Eyes shows the toddler singing the song: “On The Good Ship Lollipop” in an uncomfortably short babydoll dress, being carried, held, and touched by an ensemble of around a dozen grown men. The 1936 film, Poor Little Rich Girl also has plenty of scenes of Temple being fondled by grown men, that entire film as a whole is a prime example of early-Hollywood pedophilia and how normalized it was in the industry.

With the arrival of Shirley Temple to the film industry, creeps from all across the globe could fulfill their sick, twisted fantasies from the comfort of the movie theater. And when these movies later came out on home media, the problem only became worse and more easily hidden.

The sexual exploitation of Shirley Temple might have been horrific on screen, but things were so much worse behind the scenes. During the production of her many films, Temple and her fellow child actors endured an abundance of both physical and sexual abuse. In her 1988 book: Child Star: An Autobiography, Temple described the Baby Burlesks series as “a cynical exploitation of our childish innocence.” She also explained that if any of the preschool age children misbehaved on set, they were locked in a windowless booth called the “punishment box” and be forced to sit on a solid block of ice for extended periods of time. Temple was sent to the “punishment box” several times but claimed it did “no lasting damage” to her psyche. Temple described these production sets having a very strong, present, “time is money” attitude. This led to her being forced to work while injured on multiple occasions, one time working a single day after a serious eardrum operation.

In 1940, at the age of 12, Shirley Temple had a meeting with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer producer, Arthur Freed, where he exposed himself to her. After seeing her nervously giggle, Freed threw Temple out of his office. This deplorable man would go on to produce wildly successful films such as Singin’ In The Rain, The Wizard of Oz, an American in Paris, and Annie Get Your Gun. Being a known, bold pedophile did little to lessen your reputation or professional success in early Hollywood. Years later, at the age of 17, Temple was made a victim again when producer David O. Selznik of Selznik International Pictures, attempted to sexually assault her. She was fortunately able to escape this ordeal unscathed, but this was not the last time she would have to deal with the pigs of Hollywood.

Temple found herself being a victim to men’s twisted fantasies in reviews for her movies as well. Famous British novalist, Graham Greene ended up becoming the most infamous of these critics. Referring to her 1936 film, Captain January, Greene wrote “Her neat and well-developed rump twisted in the tap-dance.” It’s important to note that Temple was eight years old at the time. In a review for the 1937 film Wee Wee Winkie, he referred to the child as “Wearing short kilts, she is a complete totsy… watch the way she measures a man with agile studio eyes, with dimpled depravity.” Fortunately, Temple and Twentieth Century Fox were able to successfully sue Greene for libel. However, there is no telling the damage this must have done to that little girl’s mind and self image at the time……”