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<\/a><\/center><\/p>\nKerri-Anne was joined by former child star Nikki Webster on the back of her advice for AGT contestant Jack Vidgen.<\/strong><\/p>\n Kerri-Anne: <\/strong>Well he’s the favourite to take out Australia’s Got Talent<\/em>, the final, but now 14-year-old singing sensation Jack Vidgen is receiving very disturbing death threats via Facebook, which I guess begs the question, why are we so quick to criticize people who\u2019ve enjoyed some success?<\/p>\n Nikki Webster grew up in the spotlight, knows all too well how brutal people and the media can be. Now she\u2019s offering Jack some sound advice to help him avoid Australia\u2019s tall poppy syndrome. She joins me to discuss how challenging it can be growing up a child star. Nikki, great to see you again.<\/p>\n Nikki:<\/strong> You too, you too. Good morning.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> It was interesting your remarks and advice to Jack Vidgen. You suggested that he leave the country, what\u2019s behind that remark?<\/p>\n Nikki:<\/strong> It wasn\u2019t so much \u2018Get out of Australia.\u2019 I love Australia, this is where my career started and I\u2019m so grateful and blessed to have had the opportunities that I\u2019ve had, and I wouldn\u2019t change anything for the world. But I was asked to give Jack advice, and it was more the fact that the media can get quite vicious – and I hope it doesn\u2019t for his sake \u2013 but they can get vicious, and it can affect his passion to perform and entertain, and if that\u2019s gonna happen then he needs to go overseas and travel the world and make music throughout the world, and then Australia\u2019s always gonna be here and we\u2019re always gonna love him. So that was the context, that I was saying it to him.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> Are we still in the era that we appreciate our people more when they\u2019ve gone away, done the big stuff, and come back \u2013 are we still in that era?<\/p>\n Nikki:<\/strong> You know, I think we are still in that era. When I look at the history, you know Kylie Minogue\u2019s gone overseas, Danni\u2019s gone overseas, there\u2019s a lot of stars that\u2019ve had to go overseas.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> And they\u2019ve copped their own. Kylie: the singing budgie.<\/p>\n Nikki:<\/strong> Horrible, yeah.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> They\u2019ve been [through] some really tough stuff. But what was is that affected you so much? You talk about how brutal the media and people can be, what do you mean by that?<\/p>\n Nikki:<\/strong> Um, I think it was more the fact that I was a 13-year-old girl who represented my country, had a wonderful opportunity, created music after that, all my dreams were fulfilled. Got to about fifteen and all of a sudden, media personalities who I thought I had a good relationship with were making me the brunt of their jokes and, you know I was sitting at home and they weren\u2019t letting me on their show, and I was always the punch line of jokes. And I couldn\u2019t really work out what was going on, and I\u2019d go to school and people would say to me, \u201cYou\u2019re this diva,\u201d or this, that, the other, and I was like, \u201cBut you know me, we\u2019ve grown up together.\u201d And people were believing what they were reading and hearing more than the relationship I had with them.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> Why do you think people turn, in Australia? Is it very much the tall poppy syndrome, an Australian thing to go through?<\/p>\n Nikki: <\/strong>You know, I think it happens all over the world. I think we do put people up on a pedestal and then we kinda need to let them get a little bit rocky and give them a hard time and see if they can fight through. But I think in Australia it happens more so with our child stars \u2013 not our sports stars, we do support our sports stars \u2013 but with performers it does happen. Yes, everyone knows I went through it and I\u2019m not crying out saying I want an apology. It happens.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> What was the most hurtful thing you remember, when you were fifteen or sixteen?<\/p>\n Nikki:<\/strong> [laughs]<\/em> I think it was something where I was, I think it was on the Rove show, and they actually blew me up or something and, they had like a fake character of me and they blew me up. And I thought that was just a little bit inappropriate.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> It\u2019s very hurtful to be constantly the butt of people\u2019s jokes.<\/p>\n Nikki: <\/strong>And it does hurt your passion, as a child.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> And that\u2019s what you think may happen to Jack?<\/p>\n Nikki:<\/strong> It could happen; I hope we\u2019ve learnt and I hope we support him. He\u2019s an incredible talent and I wish him all the best and you know I hope that we can watch his journey grow, wherever it may go musically.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne: <\/strong>On the weekend Toddlers and Tiaras<\/em>, a lot of hoo-ha about this sexualisation of young kids. How have you viewed that?<\/p>\n Nikki: <\/strong>I think we need kids to be kids. We\u2019re only kids for such a short amount of time, we need to nurture kids, and when I opened my dance studio three years ago, it was for that reason. It was to nurture young performers, to share my experiences with them and to guide them, and protect them. You know, they\u2019re so innocent and beautiful.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne: <\/strong>Aren\u2019t there parents who are just way too involved in a kid\u2019s career?<\/p>\n Nikki: <\/strong>I think there are two sides. There are parents who live through their kids, and their kids aren\u2019t really enjoying what they\u2019re doing, and there are parents whose kids actually have talent, and would give up everything to make sure that kid has the best opportunity possible, to fulfil their dreams.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> Nikki, if you hadn\u2019t been the big star you were from the Olympics, do you believe you would have had a better career and a better life?<\/p>\n Nikki:<\/strong> Not at all, not at all. My whole life has been performing. I started performing at the age of five and you know, I was doing musicals and TV, and performing and dancing. It was my dream! The fact that it came true at thirteen is just a blessing, and I wouldn\u2019t change anything. It\u2019s allowed me to open my dance studio, my talent agency, you know I\u2019ve made music, I\u2019ve done records. I\u2019ve travelled the world and what more could a 13-year-old ask for?<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> We\u2019re just sorry for all those brickbats. Quite undeserved. But thank you.<\/p>\n Nikki:<\/strong> Definitely! Let\u2019s support our talent and get behind them, because it\u2019s a great thing we have incredible talent in this country.<\/p>\n Kerri-Anne:<\/strong> Well said. Nikki Webster, thank you.<\/p>\n Nikki:<\/strong> Thank you, so good to see you!<\/p>\n Source: Kerri-Anne<\/i> Kerri-Anne was joined by former child star Nikki Webster on the back of her advice for AGT contestant Jack Vidgen. Kerri-Anne: Well he’s the favourite to take out Australia’s Got Talent, the final, but now 14-year-old singing sensation Jack Vidgen is receiving very disturbing death threats via Facebook, which I guess begs the question, why … Continue reading<\/a>Child Stars – The Kerri-Anne Show<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,77],"tags":[22,35,33],"class_list":["post-539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-34","category-transcripts","tag-interviews","tag-tall-poppy-syndrome","tag-transcripts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2039,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539\/revisions\/2039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nWatch the video here<\/a>. View screencaps here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"