The Lifetime Movie That Totally Enraged Melissa Joan Hart Fans
In October 2023, Lifetime released "Would You Kill For Me? The Mary Bailey Story," as its latest original TV movie. The topic, a dramatized documentary, is nothing new for the network, which has produced a slew of true crime-based films, like "Prosecuting Casey Anthony." However, it wasn't the genre that had fans in an uproar but the cast.
Protagonist Ella was played by Melissa Joan Hart, a longtime favorite of millennials who adored the quippy teen as Clarissa in "Clarissa Explains It All" or the mid-90s version of Sabrina in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." In contrast, Ella isn't a teenager; she's not even a middle-aged woman. Hart's role is that of a grandmother. "When they said 'grandma' in the trailer, I immediately died, like, aren't we still 25?" one fan raged in response to Hart's Instagram post about the movie.
"Clarissa explains retirement please," wrote another. It wasn't so much that the on-screen matriarch of the family was only in her late 40s in real life, as plenty of commenters noted they were younger than Hart and had grandkids. What caused a stir was that the former Nickelodeon star eternally lives as an 18 to 20-year-old in many fans' minds. Hart's stunning transformation into a grandma just didn't add up because neither does the fact that 1996 was almost 30 years ago.
Melissa Joan Hart agreed with fans to an extent
There was so much shock among Melissa Joan Hart fans when she was introduced as a grandmother in Lifetime's "Would You Kill For Me? The Mary Bailey Story" that the celeb had to jump on Instagram to speak her mind. Posting a screengrab from Scary Mommy's website that read, "Melissa Joan Hart is Playing A Grandma In a Lifetime Movie & People Are NOT Okay," she wrote, "While I'm proud of my performance in my most recent movie [...] I couldn't be more flattered that people don't think of me as a grandmother."
The uproar eventually spread to TikTok, where one user posted a clip of a matronly Hart pulling a turkey out of the oven for her grandchildren, quipping, "I'm convinced that we are living in the upside down. Sabrina is still a teen!!!" Respondents shared the sentiment, with one arguing, "No Clarissa, we ain't there yet." Thankfully, Hart took it all in stride, reasoning simply, "It's also refreshing to go viral for my work and not something controversial."
However, some did feel that there was a little bit of controversy about her being cast in the role. A woman in her late 40s could be a grandma, but Hollywood is known for its ageism when it comes to women. Instead of casting Hart as the mother and a 50-plus woman (the average age women are inducted into grandparenthood) as the grandma, producers chose Hart. The mother, Veronica, is played by Olivia Scriven, who was in her mid-20s at the time.
The actor tends to steer well clear of controversy
Melissa Joan Hart was understandably relieved when she discovered her name was trending for something lighthearted instead of serious. The former '90s star has faced her fair share of trials and tribulations in Hollywood, which could have been what led her to take up made-for-television movies with networks like Lifetime instead of trying to break into larger film roles as the years went on. In 2011, the "Christmas in Montana" star faced a lawsuit from her former manager, Kieran Maguire, citing unpaid commissions.
It was settled the following year, but being publicly sued can take a toll on a person (and their reputation). Elsewhere in 2012, when she shared her support for presidential candidate Mitt Romney, on X, formerly Twitter, Hart's name trended once again, albeit not for great reasons, as online commenters hurled insults and negative remarks. And, how could we forget that the Sabrina we all know and love was almost booted from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" after she posed for Maxim in 1999?
These days, if Hart's name is part of a hashtag, she only wants it to be for something positive. As the busy mom of three told Glamour in 2020, "I'm working and paying my mortgage and am fulfilled creatively. It doesn't worry me that people don't know what I'm up to." And if playing a grandmother in a Lifetime movie is paying the bills and filling her cup professionally, then there's no harm in that.