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Former Disney star Maitland Ward, whose real name is Ashley Maitland Welkos, recently told Fox News that the Hollywood industry respects her more as an adult film actress. The actress shared her journey in an exclusive interview as per the outlet's report dated March 15, 2025.
Maitland Ward starred as Rachel McGuire in the popular sitcom Boy Meets World. She also played Jessica Forrester on the CBS soap drama The Bold and the Beautiful. Ward starred in movies such as Killing Mr. Griffin, Dish Dogs, and White Chicks.
As per InTouch Weekly's report, the actress started working in the adult industry in 2019.
In her recent interview with Fox News, Ward shared she pitched her 2022 memoir Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me from Hollywood for a TV show, and people in the industry treated her with more respect compared to her earlier days. She said:
"I really think people treat me with more respect now, honestly, especially even in Hollywood right now. I’m pitching my 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. They’re just much more receptive to the story."
She stated that she enjoys her work in the adult film industry, calling her videos "art pieces." Ward claimed people are always surprised to hear that a female director works alongside her. She said:
"I’m creating full-length movies. I’m doing things like making projects that I really feel passionate about. 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, p*rnographic art pieces. And I think that’s really special."
Maitland Ward on working in a Disney show
Maitland Ward shared in a 2022 interview with Yahoo Lifestyle that earlier, Disney and Hollywood producers were allegedly strict and policed the clothes the young actors wore and how they presented themselves.
Ward mentioned that Michael Jacobs, a television writer and producer, was allegedly adamant about her behaving like a "good girl." She said:
"If I ever wore anything like that, or did anything suggestive like that in real life, Disney and producers and Hollywood would've come down on me. Especially the producer, Michael Jacobs, he was very adamant about me being chaste and the good girl. It was just very confusing. It hindered my sexual exploration and finding out who I was for a very long time."
The actress also shared how, on sets, people reportedly acted inappropriately with her and commented on her body. She said:
"I was always looked at, in my view, as the more provocative one — people were fascinated by my long legs, and that I'm so tall and I have fiery red hair and, and it was like it almost made that OK. People would come up and like pat you on the a*s or like give you a little pinch or say, 'Oh, look how hot you are. Look at your t*ts.'"
Maitland Ward's memoir Rated X: How Porn Liberated Me from Hollywood was published by Atria Books in 2022.
