The Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik and Neil Patrick Harris are friends once again, almost three decades after she saw Harris star in Rent on Broadway. Bialik, who stars in the new Fox sitcom Call Me Kat, was not a fan of Rent and almost did not join the audience in a standing ovation at the end of the show. Harris saw talk about not standing and Bialik was sure the incident ended their friendship. After she went public with the story, Harris reached out by sending Bialik flowers.
During an interview with The Chicago Tribune, Bialik called the incident her “worst moment.” The two former child stars were friends in their teens, as they both starred on hit shows, Harris on Doogie Howser, M.D., and Bialik on Blossom. Bialik was excited to support Harris when he performed in Rent in about 1992 or 1993, and he got Bialik, her parents, and her boyfriend at the time great seats in the theater. “So we go and he’s terrific, but — all my respect to Rent — it’s just not my cup of tea,” Bialik explained. “It’s not my thing. But the audience had a lot of screaming girls, it was a madhouse. And when it came time for the curtain call, everyone was on their feet before the actors even came out.”
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Bialik said she turned to her boyfriend and said she was not going to stand with the rest of the audience at the end. However, she was sure Harris could read her lips, so she jumped up and clapped anyway. They went backstage and her parents assured Bialik that Harris did not hear her. But the first thing Harris did when he saw Bialik was asked why she almost didn’t stand! “It was so awkward,” Bialik told the Tribune. “And I was like, ‘Neil, you were so amazing, I just wasn’t on my feet yet but I’m so proud of you!’”
Bialik said she later wrote a letter to Harris but was never sure if he got it. “Our social circles shifted anyway but I’m certain it ended our friendship,” she explained. “I’ve seen him since, but it’s one of those stories where there’s no way to feel good about what happened. Just no way. It’s terrible.”
Harris might not have seen the note, but he did see Bialik’s interview with the Tribune. Over the weekend, he sent Bialik flowers. She shared a photo on Instagram, alongside an old picture of the two during their teen years. “Throwback to that time when I was really mean to [Harris] 25 years ago,” she wrote. “I recently talked about the moment with [Tribune] and he sent me flowers because of it.”
Bialik now stars in her first post-Big Bang sitcom, Call Me Kat, which is based on the BBC show Miranda. She stars as a single woman who runs a cat cafe in Louisville, Kentucky. The series airs on Fox Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
