Mara Wilson is opening up about her lifelong friend Michelle Trachtenberg. Sadly not all the memories are nice…
It’s been nearly three weeks since the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star tragically passed away at just 39 years old. And while attempting to come to terms with it, the Matilda star is reflecting on their years of friendship… And the bullying Michelle sadly endured as a kid.
In an emotional essay penned for Vulture on Tuesday, Mara, who went to middle school in Burbank, California with Michelle, opened up about the animosity other students directed towards her fellow child star when she first enrolled in the school:
“They’d heard [Michelle] was mean, full of herself, a total bitch. ‘She’s not,’ I’d say, every time. ‘She’s really nice!’”
She added that many of the students were aspiring actors — and thus were jealous of Michelle, who made her big screen acting debut in 1996’s Harriet the Spy alongside Rosie O’Donnell.
Related: Michelle Trachtenberg’s Final Film Honored Her With Touching Tribute: ‘We All Had To Wipe Away The Tears’
She recalled one specific conversation in 1999 where the late actress got vulnerable about the bullying she was facing. She asked Mara:
“‘Are the kids here mean to you? … Because they are to me. They call me Harriet the Slut, Harriet the Bitch, Harriet the Bitchy Spy … and so much worse. They never stop.’”
That’s SO awful! Poor little Michelle. Mara added:
“I had never seen Michelle cry before. I’d never seen her anything other than perfectly composed and confident. That’s what it was, I realized. That’s why they said she was ‘mean.’ Because they were mean to her first, then when she went on the defense, they called her a bitch.”
Sadly the bullying continued on through college, where the Simple Wish star recalled defending Michelle from yet ANOTHER critic speculating she “just has to be a bitch in real life” based on her Gossip Girl character.
What an idiotic assumption! At least she had a friend in the Mrs. Doubtfire star to defend her.
Mara said that in the weeks since her pal’s death, she’s reached out to several other childhood friends:
“I needed them to know that I loved them and missed them.”
You can’t ever take anyone for granted!
Our hearts break hearing about the bullying Michelle endured. What do YOU think of Mara’s account of it? Let us know in the comments down below.
[Images via Sony Pictures Releasing & Paramount Pictures/YouTube, & MEGA/WENN]
The post Mara Wilson Recalls Childhood Friend Michelle Trachtenberg Crying Over AWFUL Bullying As Kids appeared first on Perez Hilton.
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