‘Mean Girls’ Star Says He Was Harassed And Bullied By Bijou Phillips 16 Years Ago
Actor Daniel Franzese of Mean Girls fame is calling out actress Bijou Phillips for an altercation he claims took place more than 15 years ago.
Writers for the New York Post report that Franzese, 39, alleged that Phillips verbally harassed him while working on the set of Bully back in 2001. The actor, who is openly gay, stated that Bijou bullied him while shooting images for the cast poster and mocked him for his weight and sexuality.
“On my first film, I was harassed by Bijou Phillips the entire shoot,” Franzese wrote on Facebook, adding, “she body shamed me and ridiculed me about my sexuality? and physically assaulted me. I was scared and closeted and feared for my job.”
According to Franzese, Phillips’ harassment began with “eye rolling,” but eventually graduated to verbal assaults regarding his homosexuality, which Daniel held secret until 2014, as the Huffington Post noted.
“As we were shooting [the cast poster] she kept loudly saying, ‘Are you gay?!’ and laughing? while the producers? and photographer did nothing? to stop her,” Franzese says.
Co-stars Michael Pitt and the late Brad Renfro were said to have stepped in to halt the harassment to no avail, Daniel continued.
In an effort to subdue her queries, Franzese reportedly told Bijou that he identified as bisexual.
“She cackled and? said, ‘Ha! He’s bi!’ And then when I showed up to work the next day in front of the crew, she was screaming, ‘Oh look! The bi guy is here,'” he wrote.
At some point, Bijou supposedly “grabbed my nipple and twisted it hard through my shirt and laughed and walked away,” and kicked him in the head during another interaction.
Hours after making the post on Facebook, Bijou responded to TMZ, expressing that she had no recollection of the incident.
“I want to write to address what Daniel has said,” Phillips shared. “I don’t remember that time well, those years are a blur. I was a teenager and reckless in my behavior. I know Daniel to be a trustworthy and honest person, and to find out through social media that I was not the friend I thought I was to him made me so sad.”
Bijou went on to call her behavior, if true, mortifying, and said she had reached out to Daniel “privately” to apologize for her possible actions.
“I am not and never have been homophobic,” she continued. “I have nothing but love for the LGBTQ community and Daniel.”
Daniel Franzese’s full claims toward Bijou Phillips can be read below. Reps for Phillips did not respond to the New York Post‘s request for comments on the alleged interactions.
https://www.facebook.com/danielfranzese/posts/10155321797408731
[Featured Image by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images & Matt Winkelmeyer/Stringer/Getty Images]
