Madison Pettis, the 27-year-old actress who grew up right in front of Disney Channel cameras, just dropped one of the most talked about celebrity revelations of the year. On a recent podcast appearance, she called her ex-boyfriend, NBA forward Michael Porter Jr, a psychopath. She broke up with him before he ever stepped onto an NBA court, and now she is finally telling the world exactly why.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Madison Pettis Age | 27 years old (born July 22, 1998) |
| Birthplace | Arlington, Texas |
| Madison Pettis Net Worth | Estimated between $800K and $2 million |
| Known For | Cory in the House, The Game Plan, He’s All That |
| Michael Porter Jr Current Team | Brooklyn Nets |
| Relationship Timeline | Late 2016 to mid 2017 |
| Podcast Where She Spoke | In Your Dreams With Owen Thiele |
The Podcast Moment That Broke the Internet
It started casually enough. Pettis appeared on the In Your Dreams With Owen Thiele podcast and the conversation drifted toward NBA basketball, something she openly enjoys watching. When the host asked whether she could ever see herself as a basketball wife, she did not hesitate.
She told the audience she had dated someone who is now in the league, that when they were together he was still in high school and college, and that she walked away from the relationship because he was, in her exact words, a psychopath.
She did not name him right away. But the internet did not need long to connect the dots. Multiple sources confirmed that the man she was describing was Michael Porter Jr, the Brooklyn Nets forward who was drafted 14th overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Who Is Madison Pettis and Why People Are Paying Attention
A lot of people searching madison pettis young and madison pettis movies and tv shows right now may only know her as a face from a Disney Channel sitcom. The truth is her career stretches far wider than that.
Madison Michelle Pettis was born on July 22, 1998 in Arlington, Texas. Her father Steven Pettis is African American, and her mother Michelle Dallava is of Italian, Irish, and French ancestry. She has an older brother also named Steven. Before she ever appeared on screen, her mother entered her into a FortWorthChild cover search contest, which started her path into modeling at age five.
By 2005 she was already appearing on Barney and Friends. By 2007 she had landed the breakout role that would define her early career.
Madison Pettis Movies That Made Her Famous
Her big screen debut came at just eight years old when she was cast as Peyton Kelly, the long lost daughter of Dwayne Johnson’s character, in The Game Plan (2007). That one film put her name on the map nationally. Around the same time she was cast as Sophie Martinez, the President’s daughter, on the Disney Channel series Cory in the House. She was the youngest star Disney Channel had in that role at the time, and she became a household name among kids who grew up watching the network in the late 2000s.
From there, madison pettis movies kept coming. She appeared alongside Will Smith in Seven Pounds (2008). She had a small role in Horton Hears a Who that same year. She starred in Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out (2008) and returned for its sequel Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend in 2014. She appeared in Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva la Fiesta in voice roles.
Her adult filmography includes American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules (2020), where she played the lead role of Annie, and the Netflix teen romcom He’s All That (2021) alongside Addison Rae. More recently she starred in The Wrong Paris on Netflix.
Madison Pettis TV Shows Beyond Disney
Beyond Disney, her madison pettis movies and tv shows resume includes recurring roles on Lab Rats on Disney XD from 2012 to 2015, a recurring arc on The Fosters on ABC Family, a guest appearance on Law and Order Special Victims Unit, and the lead role of Tosh Bennett in the Facebook Watch teen drama Five Points, produced by Kerry Washington and Jon Avnet from 2018 to 2019. She also voiced characters in Jake and the Never Land Pirates, The Lion Guard, Phineas and Ferb, Sofia the First, Fancy Nancy, and Mickey and the Roadster Racers.
She was also the youngest entertainer ever invited to tour with the USO, traveling globally to support American troops and their families.
Madison Pettis Net Worth: What Has She Built?
The question of madison pettis net worth comes up constantly, and different sources give different figures. Celebrity Net Worth estimates her net worth at $2 million. Reality Tea pegged it closer to $800,000 in 2025. Some sources stretch the figure higher.
What is clear is that her income comes from multiple streams: acting in film and television, extensive voice acting work in animated series, brand endorsements, modeling campaigns including her time as an ambassador for Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty lingerie line, and a significant social media presence with over 20 million followers across platforms.
She started earning professionally at age five and has never really stopped. That kind of runway matters when estimating wealth accumulation over two decades in entertainment.
Madison Pettis Parents and How She Got Her Start
Madison Pettis parents played a direct role in launching her career. Her mother Michelle recognized her daughter’s natural charisma early and entered her in the FortWorthChild cover search. That single decision set everything in motion. Her father Steven has been a steady supportive presence throughout her career.
The family relocated from Arlington, Texas to Los Angeles as Madison’s career demanded more of her time and attention. Her parents navigating Hollywood on behalf of a child star is the kind of detail that rarely makes headlines but shapes everything that follows.
The Madison Pettis and Michael Porter Jr Relationship Timeline
This is what everyone actually wants to understand right now. The madison pettis and michael porter jr relationship was not long, but it was clearly memorable, at least for Pettis.
They dated from approximately late 2016 through mid 2017. At that point Porter Jr was still a high school and college prospect, and Pettis was a young actress navigating her career transition from child star to adult roles. She ended the relationship before his 2018 NBA Draft selection, meaning she walked away before the money arrived, before the spotlight expanded, and before he became a player with a contract worth over $200 million.
| Period | Details |
|---|---|
| Dating period | Late 2016 to mid 2017 |
| Porter Jr status at the time | High school and college prospect |
| 2018 NBA Draft | Drafted 14th overall by Denver Nuggets |
| Contract value | Over $200 million extension with Denver |
| Current team | Brooklyn Nets (traded from Denver) |
Her explanation for why she left is now very public.
What She Actually Said About Dating Athletes
Pettis was not simply airing grievances on the podcast. The conversation was more layered than the headline suggests. She acknowledged that she still enjoys watching basketball. She acknowledged that she would not rule out dating an athlete in the future. She said she has genuine respect for what athletes do and admires their dedication to their craft.
Her words, delivered without hesitation on the podcast, were direct:
“I broke up with him before he was in the league because he was a psychopath. I do think a lot of athletes are not great partners, but I wouldn’t rule it out because I do love what they do.”
— Madison Pettis, In Your Dreams With Owen Thiele podcast
That single quote does two things at once. It names the reason she left and it refuses to let one bad experience define her entire outlook. She dropped a sharp characterization of a man who now has a $200 million NBA contract and immediately followed it with something that showed real self-awareness. She was not on the podcast to burn anyone down. She was talking openly, and the truth came out naturally.
That nuance has largely been lost in the way the story spread online, but it matters for understanding what she was actually communicating.
Michael Porter Jr Has a History of Controversial Podcast Moments
This is not the first time Porter Jr’s name has come up in uncomfortable podcast territory. He has developed something of a reputation for frank, sometimes polarizing podcast appearances.
In one notable interview on the Respectfully the Justin Laboy Show, he discussed his approach to relationships and money, revealing that he had once split rent with a girlfriend specifically to test whether she was with him for the right reasons. He framed it as a way to determine a woman’s intentions when significant wealth is involved. He also said that previous partners of women he dated had money, so he needed to find ways to assess loyalty independently of financial motivation.
He has also discussed Andrew Tate in podcast settings and made remarks on various topics that his team reportedly urged him to walk back. People close to him have been described as advising him to steer clear of certain subjects in interview settings.
None of that context makes Pettis’s characterization verifiable, but it does establish that Porter Jr is no stranger to controversy generated through candid media appearances.
Madison Pettis and American Pie: The Role That Surprised People
One thing that consistently surprises people who only remember Madison Pettis from her Disney years is the madison pettis american pie connection. In 2020 she starred in American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules, the ninth installment in the American Pie franchise. She played Annie, one of the four lead characters. The film is a direct-to-video sex comedy, a deliberate departure from the family-friendly work that defined her early career.
It was a clear signal that she was done being packaged as a child star and was ready to take on adult material. The film has its cult following among franchise fans and marks an interesting turning point in how Pettis has built her adult filmography.
What Happens Next for Both of Them
As of now, Porter Jr has not responded publicly to Pettis’s comments. Given his track record of engaging with controversy through podcast appearances rather than ignoring them, many observers are watching to see whether he addresses her remarks on a future episode of one of the shows he has appeared on.
For Pettis, the comments represent something she has rarely offered publicly: a direct, unambiguous window into her personal life and her standards. She has generally kept her dating history private. The fact that she named this experience at all, even obliquely, suggests she has moved well past any desire to protect him from the characterization.
She continues to build her career in film and television. Her social media following remains enormous. Her influence on platforms like Instagram and TikTok has grown alongside her acting resume rather than replacing it.
The combination of a famous ex, a blunt description, and a cultural moment primed to amplify exactly this kind of story means this conversation is likely to follow both of them for a while.
