Frankie Muniz has shared a surprising revelation about an incident between him and Hilary Duff that occurred over 20 years ago.
The actor from Malcolm In The Middle has disclosed a previously untold story about his teenage years with Duff.
While discussing his current life and the upcoming reboot of the show that brought him fame on The Joe Vulpis Podcast, Muniz talked about his past experiences with the Lizzie McGuire actress.
The two had worked together in the 2003 film Agent Cody Banks and had been quite close, with Muniz even making a guest appearance on her show.
However, an event led to a rift in their friendship, causing a long-standing feud.
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t Duff who was responsible for the fallout but her mother.
This all started when Muniz appeared as a guest on Duff’s show.
At that time, he encountered Duff’s mom, Susan, describing her as ‘intense’ and ‘the epitome of a stage mom.’
Recalling the incident, he said on the podcast: “She was intense. Hilary was so cool, we had an awesome relationship, but her mom was super intense.”
Deciding to unveil the entire drama, Muniz noted that it might cause trouble, but he felt it was time to share it as he is now an adult.
He stated: “I’ve actually never told this story, and I might get in trouble for it, but I don’t care. I’m 40.”
Muniz recounted that during his encounter with Susan, she inquired about his summer plans.
When he disclosed his exciting new role, Susan allegedly asked, “Is there a girl that could be Hilary, that would be good for Hilary?”
While he acknowledged there might be a role for her, he didn’t reveal that he had negotiated a clause in his contract giving him influence over who could play the leading female role alongside him.
After this interaction, everything seemed normal until the next day when Susan announced their summer plans together.
He explained: “The next morning I show up to the set, I go into her dressing room to hang out, and her mom’s like, ‘Guess what? We’re gonna be spending the summer together!’
“She was like, ‘We’re gonna be up in Vancouver together!’”
Initially, he thought they had secured another project in the same location, but upon questioning the role, she revealed they were doing “Cody Banks with you.”
Muniz added that Susan claimed they had signed the contract the night before, shortly after he had mentioned the project.
Finding it hard to comprehend, Muniz told the host: “And I’m like, ‘The movie you knew nothing about yesterday, you signed – how – it’s not possible! It’s not humanly possible.’”
Since he was supposed to have a say in casting, Muniz contacted his agent, who confirmed that Duff was cast because they were ‘really close’ and it was assumed to be acceptable.
Muniz clarified that his frustration wasn’t about Duff being cast but about the fact that the decision went behind his back.
“So needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled about it. And not because I didn’t want it to be Hilary. Just because they went around me,” he admitted.
It remains unclear if Duff was aware of this situation.
Making matters worse, Muniz felt ‘very sad’ whenever Susan was on the film set.
“I’ve never talked to Hilary since the last day of filming. I’ve not said one word to her since then. So that’s the truth that no one knows about,” he revealed.
Efforts to obtain comments from Hilary Duff’s representatives have been made.