Christy Carlson Romano has revealed that she was paid half the salary of her co-star Shia LaBeouf on the popular Disney Channel sitcom "Even Stevens." Romano, who played Ren Stevens, stated in a promotional Instagram post for her memoir, "Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Fall and Rise of a Child Star," that she earned $6,000 per episode, while LaBeouf, who played her on-screen brother Louis Stevens, received $12,000 per episode.
The series aired for three seasons from 2000 to 2003. Romano shared a letter from her mother to her agent from 2000, which outlined the pay discrepancy and requested equal compensation. "My mom was fighting for me, and she was also fighting for a household that depended on a teenage girl," Romano wrote in her post, noting that her paycheck was keeping her family afloat by that time.
Romano found the letter while researching for her memoir and reflected on the experience. She acknowledged that LaBeouf "earned every dollar" but emphasized that her book is not solely about him or other famous names. Instead, she stated, the story is about "a girl who grew up too fast and a business that decided she was worth half."
In a 2021 YouTube video, Romano admitted to feeling "a bit salty" about LaBeouf's subsequent success and also expressed an "undercurrent of regret" for choosing to attend college while he achieved significant fame in Hollywood. More recently, she alluded to LaBeouf's legal troubles following his arrest in New Orleans, posting an Instagram video that read, "When they ask you about your old co-star, but you’ve stopped ‘inserting’ yourself."
Romano concluded her memoir promotion by dedicating the book to those who, like her, grew up taking care of others. "If you grew up taking care of the people who were supposed to take care of you, I wrote this book for you," she stated.