Brenda Song has said she and her Suite Life castmates were “underpaid and overworked” during their years at Disney Channel, and recalled passing out on set after a hot tub malfunctioned.
The actress spoke on Wildmen, the podcast hosted by her former co-star Dylan Sprouse and Brendan Columbus.
“I think the only thing that was hard about that time was I feel like we were underpaid and overworked,” she said.
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Song, who played London Tipton, stressed that she had a “lovely time” on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, which ran from 2005 to 2008, and its follow-up The Suite Life on Deck, which ran from 2008 to 2011.
She also described the moment she collapsed during a scene in a hot tub.
Sprouse said the tub had mistakenly been set to 250 degrees, twice the temperature that US health authorities regard as safe.
“I just remember breathing heavy and my chest felt really hot. I just went, ‘Am I having a panic attack?’” Song said, before she lost consciousness.
Sprouse said everyone else on set had complained about the conditions, but not Song.
“If you didn’t pass out, you wouldn’t have said anything,” he told her. He said the crew reacted with alarm after she collapsed. Neither could remember which episode it was.
Money was another sore point.
Song joked that “we paid them” when it came to residuals. Sprouse said he received a single residual cheque for five cents, from a Hannah Montana crossover.
Phill Lewis, who played Mr Moseby, has alleged that cast members were not paid for “wraparound” footage shot for future episodes. Sprouse and Lewis estimated that around 190 episodes were shot.
Since leaving Disney Channel, Song has appeared in The Last Showgirl, The Social Network, Running Point, Dollface and Dads.
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