Actress Emily Osment has explained her notable absence from the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special amid Miley Cyrus’ playful ‘call-out’ of event host, Alex Cooper.
On Monday (March 23), 33-year-old Cyrus celebrated 20 years of her iconic Disney Channel character with fellow cast members Jason Earles, Moisés Arias, and her former on-screen love interest, Cody Linley.
Osment, who played Cyrus' best friend, Lily Truscott and her alter-ego, Lola Luftnagle on the show, did not appear in the TV reunion - and now we know why.
Taking to Instagram, the 34-year-old confirmed she was unable to take part due to filming a new series of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.
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The American sitcom is the third instalment in The Big Bang Theory franchise and serves as a direct sequel to Young Sheldon.
Osment appears as weather reporter Amanda ‘Many’ McAllister, who is 11 years older than her husband, Georgie Cooper (played by Montana Jordan).
“We’re at Georgie & Mandy … and that’s why I was not able to be part of the 20-year reunion, because we are here shooting our show,” she said in the video.
“I wanted to say hello and thank you to everybody that has stuck by us for all these years. I’m so grateful that you guys all still love this show. I'm so proud to be a part of it.”
In the caption, the Almost Family favorite wrote that Hannah Montana had ‘changed’ her life, giving her ‘lifelong respect for this medium of comedy'.
“I’ve met thousands of HM fans over the years, fans that now have children watching this show and fans that literally work beside me every day, like Montana. He’s seen every episode, don’t be fooled," she continued.
“I can’t tell you what your sweet messages mean to me and how lucky I feel to have been a part of this once-in-a-generation goliath of a television show,” Osment said, thanking fans for letting her into their living rooms.
“I hope to still be there many years from now. Would never be where I am without you guys, working on another beautiful show I love so dearly."
At the Los Angeles premiere of the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special, Cyrus jokingly called host Cooper, 31, ‘weird’ for moving into her neighborhood.
The playful comment was made onstage at the El Capitan Theatre, with the ‘Flowers’ singer later thanking her for hosting the event.
“Alex being a super-fan, kinda creepy,” she joked. “She’s also my neighbor which is also creepy.
“She got money and then she moved next door to me so there was no other host… Yeah, it was weird.”
Prior to his appearance at the premier event, 48-year-old Earles, who portrayed Cyrus’ on-screen brother Jackson in Hannah Montana, admitted he had once lied to Disney executives about his age.
“When I auditioned for the show, I lied to them and told them I was 18 years old,” he said on the Best of Both Our Worlds: The Official, Unofficial Hannah Montana Podcast.
“I remember one of the higherup network executives showed up on show night and he was like, ‘Hey, so, you’re 28.’ And I was like, ‘I am’.
“And he’s like, ‘So, you’re married? And I was like, ‘Yeah, that girl that I keep making out with, yeah. that’s my wife.’ And he was like, ‘Uh, any more any more secrets? Anything we should know?”
The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special is available to stream on Disney+ from March 24.
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Disney, Disney Plus, Miley Cyrus
Ella Scott