Huffington PostJeff Garlin loves former co-star Selena Gomez, but he doesn't love seeing the young actress and singer "sexualized" in Hollywood.
During an appearance on HuffPost Live Tuesday, the former Wizards of Waverly Place star expressed his disappointment about what young stars endure in the public eye today.
"I worked with [Gomez] for three years, and I love her. She is, at least in terms of what I saw, a great kid," he explained to host Josh Zepps. "But then I see her sexualized."
One specific example is when the "Come and Get it" singer starred in the indie movie, Spring Breakers. In the film, Gomez and her female co-stars enjoy a wild spring break that turns into the party of a lifetime.
"I'm by myself in the theater, and I couldn't have felt dirtier," he admitted. "Great bikini shots of Selena Gomez? I don't go there. I see the thing, but I see those chubby cheeks. She's a kid."
He added, "This is disgusting that it's happening so young."
So who's to blame for this new trend in Hollywood? Garlin has a few ideas.
"It didn't happen 30 years ago….I'll blame the Internet," he said. "I'm not like clean-cut Johnson. Maybe it's because I know [Gomez]. It's like she's young, she's a kid."
Luckily for Garlin, he doesn't have to worry about any "sexualization" in his ABC hit series, The Goldbergs.
Set in the ‘80s in Jenkintown, Pa., the show depicts an average family who opts for bright sweaters and turtlenecks instead of scantily-clad bikinis and cleavage-revealing dresses.
It's safe to say a wild spring break is not on this TV family's itinerary.