Laguna Beach creator Liz Gateley addressed criticism surrounding the show. Gateley shared her take on the controversy that teens were too young to be on the show. The creator shared her view on whether featuring teenagers on the show was irresponsible.
Liz Gateley explains why she didn’t consider “Laguna Beach” irresponsible
Liz Gateley appeared on E!’s The Greatest Year in Pop Culture, where she addressed the criticism. She said, “I don’t think it was irresponsible. All of them were 18 when we filmed, except for Kristin. We really wanted to follow this senior year, and that’s why we wanted to do it responsibly of senior year, and by that time you’re making life decisions on your own about college, and you’re voting, and you’re doing adult things.”
Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavallari, Stephen Colletti, and other teenagers appeared on the show during their final year of high school. The show faced criticism that the teens were too young to appear on it.
Gateley noted that Cavallari had more screen time because of her love triangle with Conrad and Colletti. This year, Conrad, Colletti, and Cavallari reunited for the Laguna Beach reunion.
Gateley added, “We protected them. I think we showed a couple of kisses, but it was very innocent when you look back at it, which almost made it more sensational because it was what you filled in that you thought might be happening. But it was very innocent.”
The MTV producer argued that Laguna Beach was developed to show teens doing real-life things.
She said, “I often said, if you are the parent of an 18-year-old and you don’t think these things are happening, this can be a show that can open up a conversation about your teenager. I think for many co-viewing parents, that was something that opened it up.”
Gateley added that the production made sure the cast focused on their lives behind the camera.
She said, “We wanted to be respectful of their schoolwork and their families. They understood that if the cameras weren’t there and something significant happened, that we needed them to talk about it.”
The cast did well, leading to the show running for three seasons before spawning spin-offs.
