Katie Lai Gets Honest About Leaving Degrassi: 'I Wanted to Throw Up Every Time I Had to Go to Set'

Time of India

24-04-2025

For anyone who grew up watching
Degrassi: The Next Generation
, Katie Lai's character
Kendra Mason
still holds a special place in the early seasons of the beloved
teen drama
. As Spinner's adoptive sister, Kendra was smart, sporty, and quietly cool — a character who felt real in a show that prided itself on being raw and relatable.
But behind the scenes, Katie's experience was anything but easy.
Now 35, the former actress recently opened up on The Degrassi Kid podcast, and her honesty is both heartbreaking and brave. When asked about why she left the show after just two seasons, Katie shared the version of the story she gave at the time — one that sounded professional, even practical.
'I told them I wasn't getting much screen time and wanted to do more theatre.
That I was under contract and couldn't audition for other things. I made it sound like I just needed more freedom creatively,' she explained.
But behind the scenes, Katie's experience was anything but easy.
Now 35, the former actress recently opened up on The Degrassi Kid podcast, and her honesty is both heartbreaking and brave. When asked about why she left the show after just two seasons, Katie shared the version of the story she gave at the time — one that sounded professional, even practical.
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'I told them I wasn't getting much screen time and wanted to do more theatre. That I was under contract and couldn't audition for other things. I made it sound like I just needed more freedom creatively,' she explained.
But then she paused — and shared the truth she had kept quiet for over two decades.
'The real reason,' she said softly, 'is that I was bullied so badly on set that I would feel physically sick before going to work.
I loved acting — it was my favorite thing in the world — but the thought of walking onto that set again, it just… I couldn't.'
Her voice cracked slightly as she recalled how something she loved so deeply became a source of dread.
'I remember days where I'd sit in the car and just not want to go in. Not because of the lines or the pressure of performing, but because I knew what was waiting for me inside — the whispers, the looks, the cold shoulders.
And I was just a kid. A kid trying to do her job.'
It's a jarring contrast to the image fans might've had — a young actress living her dream on a hit show. But Katie's story is a reminder that even in spaces that look shiny and successful from the outside, there can be loneliness and pain.
Khloé Kardashian once said, 'We signed up for sharing our lives.' Katie didn't. She was just a teenager doing her best. And while her time on Degrassi may have been short, her decision to speak out — now, as an adult with perspective — might be one of the most impactful roles she'll ever take on.
Because it's not just about revisiting the past. It's about taking back your power from it.
And maybe, for someone out there silently struggling through their own version of this story, hearing hers will feel like a light switching on.