In 2001, Bijou Phillips starred in the crime drama Bully, a movie that tackled the controversial topic of peer aggression among teens. However, the wounds of a troubled childhood led to allegations that behind the scenes, she acted out the very behaviors the narrative cautioned against. The film was also the cinematic debut of actor Daniel Franzese, later famed for his iconic role as Damian in Mean Girls. Encouraged by similar disclosures made by Elliot Page, he came forward with claims that he endured emotional and physical abuse from Phillips on the set. When faced with embarrassing accusations in the public forum, Phillips gave an unexpected response.
Bijou Phillips’ alleged on-set misconduct
Being cast in Bully must have seemed like a dream come true for first-time actor Franzese. However, nothing prepared him for his alleged encounters with Philips, the resident bad girl of early noughties cinema. She played the scantily clad female lead, Ali Willis, who appears in the most grueling assault scenes. On November 11, 2017, he wrote in a harrowing Facebook post that the dream soon became a nightmare that left him with lasting emotional scars.
“On my first film, ‘Bully,’ I was harassed by Bijou Phillips the entire shoot. She body shamed me, ridiculed me about my sexuality, and physically assaulted me.”
Franzese detailed a distressing incident during a scene that required him to remove his shirt when Phillips cruelly ridiculed his body in front of the cast and crew.
“I was the chubby kid who wore his shirt in the pool… she breaks character and she pointed at my body and at the top of her lungs yelled ‘Ewwww gross!!!'”
The actor felt humiliated and walked off the set. Another co-star, the late Brad Renfro, stepped in to comfort him:
“Brad Renfro (RIP) started crying, and he followed me off set, grabbed my face and kissed me. He told me not to listen to her that I was beautiful and such a great actor.”
Phillips’ alleged bullying of Franzese intensified as she tormented him about his sexual orientation in front of their colleagues, violating his wish to keep his personal life private out of fear that it would limit his opportunities in the film industry.
“As we were shooting she kept loudly saying ‘Are you gay?!’… I reluctantly told her I was bi… the next day in front of the crew she was screaming ‘Oh look! The bi guy is here!'”
Franzese claimed that Phillips’ aggression was deeply personal, targeting his vulnerabilities and insecurities, devastating his self-worth. He claimed that things went from bad to worse when Phillips physically assaulted him. In one frightening incident, she cruelly kicked him in the head. On another alleged occasion, she malevolently twisted his nipple.
Franzese’s account underscores the importance of creating safe working environments for all actors on movie sets.
Phillips’ response to Franzese’s accusations
Phillips publicly acknowledged and took accountability for Franzese’s experiences with her, issuing a statement to TMZ.
“I want to write to address what Daniel has said. I don’t remember that time well, those years are a blur. I was a teenager and reckless in my behavior. I know Daniel to be a trustworthy and honest person, and to find out through social media that I was not the friend I thought I was to him made me so sad. I am so mortified by this behavior and have contacted Daniel and apologized to him privately. I am not and never have been homophobic. I have nothing but love for the LGBTQ community and Daniel.”
Franzese later confirmed that Phillips bravely extended an apology, which he graciously accepted.
Bijou Phillips’ criticism of ‘Bully’
Bully tells the story of an affluent group of American teenagers and their violent revolt against their tormentor after years of enduring his physical and psychological violence. It is a fictional narrative based on the 1993 murder of Bobby Kent. Larry Clark, known for his controversial hypersexualized films about teen angst, directed the project.
Phillips was required to appear in some of the grittiest and most violent scenes in the film. Upon its release she was vocal about her disappointment with the movie. She said felt exploited by Larry Clark and resented the way she was sexualized in the film. In an interview with The Guardian, she said:
“[It’s] so disrespectful. I think the movie could have been so much better. It doesn’t need that bullshit. It’s like, OK Larry, yeah, you’re a pervert. The whole fucking world knows you’re a creepy pervert. Do you have to rub it in everyone’s face?”
The movie also stars Nick Stahl, Rachel Miner, Michael Pitt, Leo Fitzpatrick, and Kelli Garner.
Additional allegations of Phillips’ aggression
In November 2017, Franzese appeared on the Shut Up And Listen podcast hosted by actor Heather Matarazzo, who starred with Phillips in Hostel: Part II.
She claims that after arriving on set with a year of sobriety behind her, she declined sleeping pills from a producer. This refusal, she believes, caused Phillips to act out. Matarazzo further alleges that Phillips threatened to force her to relapse.
“[Phillips] had thrown me up against a wall and put her hands around my neck and started choking me and choked me for a good 15, 20 seconds […] I’ve experienced some horrifying moments in my life, and I count that to be one of them.”
Philips chose not to acknowledge the Matarazzo’s account, nor did she contact Matarazzo to reconcile the matter.
The complex personal life of Bijou Phillips
While Phillips seemed to have it all on the surface, the reality of her life was more complex. She publicly blamed her acting out on her half-sister, MacKenzie Phillips, who accused their father of serious assault.
When I was young my sister told me about this – it ruined my life and my relationship with my father. Up till that point, I was a normal kid. I got good grades, loved my horse, was pretty innocent. I moved out to NYC at 13. Started doing drugs, did not talk to my Dad anymore… I was deeply f–ked up.
When she was 8, her father took on the role of her primary caregiver and she re-entered his star-studded orbit. They shared their time between luxury homes in Malibu and Long Island. After the tumult of her early years, this semblance of stability must offered immense comfort. Phillips recalled her father in idealized terms.
Phillips was 13 years old when MacKenzie came forward with her disturbing account of abuse by their father. She revealed that he permitted her to drop out of school and move to an apartment near Fifth Avenue to pursue a modeling career. She appeared in Calvin Klein’s infamous “heroin chic” ad campaigns and on the cover of Vogue.
Her father sent her to rehab in 1998 after her close friend Davide Sorrenti died of a drug overdose. Two years later, Phillips was cast in Bully.
Phillips started dating actor Danny Masterson in 2004. In 2009, they got engaged. Later the same year, she rejected her sister MacKenzie’s allegations against their father and blamed her for their prolonged estrangement:
“I’m 29 now, I’ve talked to everyone who was around during that time, I’ve asked the hard questions. I do not believe my sister. Our father is many things, this is not one of them. My dad and I made up when I was 20, a year before he died. I’m sad I lost those years with him, and I lost those years at home.”
Philips and Masterson married at an Irish castle in 2011. The following year, she was diagnosed with nephropathy. She eventually underwent a kidney transplant and praised her husband for standing by her. Their daughter, Fianna, was born on February 14, 2014. They moved from Los Angeles to a vast Santa Ynez estate, where Masterson cultivated a profitable vineyard. In 2023, Masterson was convicted of raping two women and received a 30 years prison sentence.
The high-profile actress recently filed for divorce from Masterson, citing a newfound empathy for his victims. Yet, there is speculation that their decision to separate is a pragmatic move to safeguard their joint assets before potential restitution claims from his victims in civil courts.
Phillips was the bad girl of Hollywood cinema in the 1990s and 2000s, a product of the dark side of American counterculture, nepotism, and the unabashed enabling of the entertainment industry. It’s a testament to Daniel Franzese’s skill as an actor that he masterfully harnessed his experiences on the set of the aptly named Bully and channeled them into his epic performance as Damian in Mean Girls.