Christy Carlson Romano Says Her Pay Was Half of Shia LaBeouf's on Even Stevens: “We Were Co-Leads and Had Equal Screen Time”

Christy Carlson Romano claims she received half of Shia LaBeouf's pay on the Disney Channel series Even Stevens, even though the two were “co-leads” with “equal screen time.” Romano discusses her role in the show, which aired from 2000 to 2003 and centered on the antics between a brother and sister with […]

Christy Carlson Romano claims she was paid half of Shia LaBeouf's salary on Disney Channel's Even Stevens, despite the two being "co-stars" with "the same airtime."

Romano talks about her time on the show, which ran from 2000 to 2003, in her new memoir, Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Fall and Rise of a Child Star. Romano revealed the alleged legal dispute in an Instagram post about the book, which is out now. RELATED STORIES 'Land' Scores After Super Bowl History: First Look at Dan Fogelman's Hulu NFL Drama (Exclusive) Kid Detective Series Adaptation in the Works at Hulu (Exclusive)

"I was a kid getting the female lead on 'Even Stevens,'" Romano said. I received half of the salary they gave to Shiites; We had the lead role and had the same air time. Popular in Variety

A photo of the letter is available in the post. It read: "Shia gets $12,000 an episode and Christy $6,000. At 30% confidence, we can't make it here financially. This show also takes her away from other jobs that cost more. Christy wants what Shia gets."

"Until then, my paycheck was keeping us afloat, my mom was fighting for me and also fighting for a family with a teenage daughter. It took me years to realize that I could love her for supporting me and I still wish I was a kid," Romano continued in her post.

"Shia earned every dollar, and this book is not about him or any other famous name you know," he added. Instead, he said his memoir is about "a girl who grew up too fast, and a business that cut her worth in half."

Representatives for Disney and LeBeouf did not immediately respond to Variety's request for comment.

Romano previously opened up about her relationship with LaBeouf while filming the series, saying they were "like water and oil" on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast last month.

I was growing up and growing up to be this type A, I mean, just like Ren Stevens. Like, you know your lines, you hit your marks, you don't screw up." "You're a New York kid, like, it comes with a certain level ... I was trying to go to pre-collegiate Juilliard ... Everything we did, my mom called it cross-training, came with a certain amount of training," he said.

In contrast, LaBeouf had a tumultuous childhood and has spoken about life with his recovering drug addict father, who inspired his 2019 film Honey Boy.

"He was a carefree kid on Venice Beach," Romano says. "It's like a vagrant type of hobby, but it's a very chaotic and very scary lifestyle, and he was very young to have it."