‘Mean Girls’ Star Reveals Experience Being Bullied by Co-Star Bijou Phillips

Actor Daniel Franzese used Facebook Saturday to detail his experience working on the set of 2001’s Bully with actresses Bijou Phillips, with the Mean Girls star alleging that Phillips harassed and bullied him during the shoot.

“On my first film BULLY I was harassed by Bijou Phillips the entire shoot,” Franzese wrote. “She body shamed me and ridiculed me about my sexuality‬ and physically assaulted me. I was scared and closeted and feared for my job.”

The actor noted that he was inspired to come forward by actress Ellen Page, who recently detailed the sexual harassment and homophobia she suffered at the hands of director Brett Ratner on the set of X-Men: The Last Stand.

Franzese wrote the Phillips taunted him about his sexuality after he reluctantly told her he was bi, making sure to comment on it in front of the cast and crew. He wrote that co-stars including Michael Pitt and the late Brad Renfro “kept telling her to shut up,” but Phillips continued.

The actor also discussed a scene that required him to take his shirt off, which he described as “an extremely vulnerable moment for me.” He claimed that during the scene, Phillips broke character to point at him and yell “Ewwww gross!!!,” which caused him to leave the set to collect himself.

Franzese wrote that Phillips later spoke to him, ostensibly to apologize, but insulted him instead. “She then grabbed my nipple and twisted it hard through my shirt and laughed and walked away,” he wrote. “I stopped talking to her for the rest of filming.”

He added that during another scene, Phillips was sitting behind him and “kept rubbing her dirty feet on my neck. I kept swiveling the chair to move away from her and she kicked me as hard as she could in the back of the head.”

Franzese wrote that he feels that the actress’ behavior did affect her career, although he opined that it’s possible she is a “different person” now.

Photo Credit: Facebook / Daniel Franzese