Six years ago, former Disney star Maitlandward immersed her toes in the world of porn, but she hasn't looked back since.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the former Disney star found fame while starring as Rachel McKiwar in the late season of her beloved '90s television show Boy Meets World', revealing her transition from a child actress to adult film star and “empowerment.”
“I really think I treat me with more respect now, especially now, even in Hollywood,” Ward said. “I pitch my memoirs into television format and talk to people. They're very respectful and they're very positive about my stories, especially the different people I talk about in Hollywood and so on. They're much more embracing the story. And I feel like I have a lot of positivity around it. I can create my brand, my content, how I want to create it.”
“I didn't come across anyone who hated me because of that or something,” she added her decision to pursue porn. “I really had a lot of positivity overall. That shocked everyone I know. Everyone thought people were just ripping me off and I was judged and tried to rake up next to the coal, but I became very aggressive.
Ward, who first starred as Jessica Forester in “The Bold and the Beautiful” from 1994 to 1996, made waves when she appeared on “Boy Meets World” in the late 90s.
“I was very well accepted, they were very kind to me,” Ward told Fox News Digital in 2022. Everyone knew how to establish and work with each other. I was in college and was nervous about it. But I was accepted. . . And I had a great time at the show. ”
However, since the show's rap, Ward has discovered that it has been successful in a less traditional industry: porn.
“I'm making full-length films, and I'm doing something like making projects that I really feel passionate about,” she said. “I work with an incredible female director, and I think people are always surprised that two women are creating these long erotic porn art pieces, and I think it's really special.”
She said she found a wealth of confidence through her work in the adult film industry, who struggled with body image at a young age.
“I wouldn't have been able to do it to get naked on my own and have confidence in my body and myself [before]Ward admitted. “Porn really gave me the ability to empower, to be able to stand on my own skin, to be able to create projects that I'm creating, to be proud of, to be able to go against the mold and do things that other people aren't doing or scared, and have the courage and confidence to do. When you succeed in it, you feel so confident because you did what no one else did.”
“On a set of porn sets, I have been the most comfortable I've ever felt on the set, especially in intimate circumstances.
This is not the first time Ward has been opened about her career path.
Word, who published her memoirs, “Rating X: How Porn Freed Me From Hollywood” In 2022, she told Fox News Digital that she felt that porn really opened the door to feel her “real self.”
“I think it's a really powerful story for women and everyone,” Ward said at the time. “It's about living your truth and not listening to what everyone is telling you. For a long time, Hollywood told me I could only do certain ways. The industry wanted to put me in some boxes. I reached the point where I wanted to do my thing. I'm now my real self. There are always people who try to pigeon holes you, especially as a woman. It was very liberating for me to escape. I think that applies to anyone in any industry. My story just happens to be a little more scandalous.”
While appearing on the Pod Meat World podcast recently, Ward, who took part in a fierce exchange with his former Boy Meat World co-star, said he was trying to focus on positive things and use the experience as a learning curve.
“I was very uncomfortable when I was younger. Did I look sexy enough? Was I thin enough? I was enough, and I was enough?” she recalled. “And I feel so sad about her because I turn around and say, 'Oh, God, these photos are so pretty.' And I thought they were terrible back then. I looked terrifying. I was very hard on myself. ”
“I hope my young self knew that she had the power in that power and that she could use that power on her own interests and her own agency and truly stand in it,” she concluded. “But honestly, you have to go all the way down the road for it to really mean anything.”
