Melissa Joan Hart fans slam Lifetime for featuring ‘youthful’ star, 47, as a grandmother of two in new holiday movie
MELISSA Joan Hart’s fans slammed Lifetime for casting the star as a grandmother in their new holiday movie.
The 47-year-old plays grandmother of two Ella in the movie, Would You Kill For Me? The Mary Bailey Story.
Melissa Joan Hart’s fans slammed Lifetime for casting the star as a grandmother in their new holiday movieCredit: Getty
The 47-year-old plays a grandmother of two in the movie, Would You Kill For Me? The Mary Bailey StoryCredit: Lifetime
Ella is a grandmother of two kids, one of which is supposed to be 11-year-old Mary Bailey, who in real life killed her stepdad on her mother’s instructions.
Melissa appeared in the movie in October, but a clip featuring her has gone viral on TikTok this week.
It showed the youthful Sabrina the Teenage Witch star pulling a cooked turkey out of the oven for Christmas dinner.
“Oh, it’s ready,” Melissa’s character said and her granddaughter Mary – played by Presley Allard – responded: “It’s perfect, grandma.”
Fans couldn’t get over their shock at Melissa portraying a grandmother and shared their outrage in the comments.
One wrote: “I feel attacked! Melissa Joan Hart is a grandmother? I’m pretty sure she’s my age.”
Another added: “Umm had to rush to the comment to make sure I was not alone.
“We are not subscribing to MJH as a grandma! Signed every 90’s kid.”
A third asked: “Is Melissa, Joan Hart, playing a Grandma? How old am I?” and someone else wanted to know: “Are we… are we ANCIENT?!!??”
Fans of Melissa’s hit ’90s sitcom, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, were especially annoyed.
“If Melissa Joan Hart isn’t a teenage witch, how old are we supposed to be??” one demanded.
Melissa hasn’t commented publicly on the outrage over her grandparent status onscreen.
In October, she thanked viewers on Instagram for tuning in, writing: “Thanks for watching!”
The mother of three added, “If you or someone you know is in a dangerous situation, please save this number and find help!” referring to the film’s depiction of violence and abuse.
MELISSA AS SABRINA
Melissa became a household name when she took on the titular role in Sabrina the Teenage Witch in 1996.
The show, produced by Melissa’s mum Paula Hart, followed the antics of a 16-year-old schoolgirl who discovers she’s a witch and goes to live with her two aunts while she learns her craft.
Melissa was actually 20 when she took on the role and made the most of the party lifestyle in Hollywood between filming by experimenting with drugs and almost getting fired for a nude magazine photoshoot.
“I did Sabrina from the age of 20 to 27,” she told Oprah Winfrey in a recent TV special.
“At the beginning, it was my first time really hanging out in LA, and starting to make my own money, buying my own house, starting to go out and party and do all this crazy fun stuff – and just really enjoying my life as an adult for the first time.”
WILD CHILDHOOD
In her memoir, Melissa Explains It All, she recalled kissing a lot of young stars on nights out, including Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter and Scary Movie 5 star Jerry O’Connell.
She also cheated on her boyfried James with then up-and-coming Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds.
Melissa admitted she was “running with a bad crowd” in her younger years and partied with drugs and alcohol as well as visiting the Playboy Mansion.
She told Life & Style magazine: “I experimented with weed, ecstasy, mushrooms and mescaline for about a year-and-a-half.”
The star recalled smoking “doobies” and having “dropped ecstasy” on the way to a nude photoshoot with Maxim, in 1999.
The stunt nearly cost Melissa her TV role as she previously agreed to “never play [Sabrina] naked.”
However, she wasn’t fired and she played the character until the show came to an end in 2003.
Fans claimed she was way too young for the roleCredit: Lifetime
Melissa shot to fame on Sabrina the Teenage WitchCredit: Getty – Contributor
She hasn’t commented publicly on the outrage to her grandmother roleCredit: Rex
