Kim Rhodes Reflects On How She And Dylan Sprouse Protected Each Other On ‘The Suite Life’

Actress Kim Rhodes recently appeared as a guest on the “The Vulnerable Podcast,” where she spoke in new detail about her time starring as Carey Martin on Disney Channel’s hit sitcom “The Suite Life.” The show, which aired from 2005 to 2008, followed Rhodes portraying the single mother of twins Zack and Cody (played by Cole and Dylan Sprouse) as they lived in a luxury hotel where she performed as a singer to make ends meet. Much of the comedy of the early aughts relied on body shaming, and in particular, fat shaming. Rhodes recalled a moment on set in which comments were made from an unnamed person of authority regarding Dylan Sprouse’s weight at the time.

According to Rhodes, this individual demanded that no donuts may be present in the craft services area of the set, until “he looks like him again,” referring to Cole Sprouse’s weight. Rhodes recalled standing up for the young Dylan Sprouse, as he was only 12 years old at the time.

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In another recent media appearance, Rhodes revealed that while she was pregnant on set, and that the show’s writers attempted to incorporate jokes about her gaining weight into the script to offer an explanation for her changing appearance. The actress revealed that upon reading the script, Dylan Sprouse stood up to the writers, saying that he “would not disrespect any woman, especially this woman.” His stance resulted in a script change.

@etalkctv

Zack and Cody always had Carrie Martin’s back! ‘The Suite Life’ actress Kim Rhodes opened up about her experience with Dylan and Cole Sprouse filming the Disney Channel show while pregnant. #DisneyChannel #Interview #DylanSprouse #ColeSprouse #TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody #KimRhodes (🎥: Back To The Best Podcast)

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The show, which maintains a high volume of Gen Z and millennial fans who watched it on Disney Channel growing up, had viewers excited to tune into to Rhodes’ recent media appearances. Many find it endearing that Sprouse and Rhodes stood up for one another so much over the years, and that their mother-son relationship on television translated into a real friendship off set.

I love how they had each other’s back, an on-set family that was very much an off-set one too 🤍

— steven ❀ (@arianaunext) December 1, 2023

Others feel that Rhodes could have changed the tide for child and teenaged actors on Disney Channel by standing up for Sprouse in the way that she did.

Standing up against body shaming is crucial, especially when it involves young actors. Kudos to Kim Rhodes for taking a stand!

— Raja Waqar (@rwqr01) December 1, 2023

Meanwhile, many also applauded Dylan Sprouse for standing up for Rhodes at such a young age. Sprouse has long been applauded for his sense of humor and perceived strength of character, and the new revelation that he has seemingly always maintained these beliefs continues to warm the hearts of fans.

Awww I love this so much, Dylan just gained 922827367 points in my book!

— steven ❀ (@arianaunext) November 23, 2023

Some felt that Rhodes’ story about Dylan only further proves the theory that the twins’ characters were actually opposites of who they were in reality. Dylan’s character, Zack Martin, was the show’s trickster, while Cole Sprouse’s Cody Martin was the sincere brainiac of the family. The latter Sprouse courted controversy this year for comments he made regarding his former “Riverdale” costar Lili Reinhart on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast.