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Rachel Bilson provides update on Rami Malek Instagram drama

The actress previously revealed Malek asked her to remove a throwback picture from Instagram.
The actress previously revealed Malek asked her to remove a throwback picture from Instagram. The actress previously revealed Malek asked her to remove a throwback picture from Instagram.

The OC star Rachel Bilson revealed she has cleared the air with former classmate Rami Malek following a controversy over a throwback picture.

Bilson, 39, posted a snap from her school days with Oscar-winner Malek, also 39, when he was campaigning during awards season in 2019 for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Bilson revealed last month he had been in touch and asked her to remove the image, which she did, but never heard back from Malek after she apologised.

“I was super bummed,” she told Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast.

Bilson has now revealed Malek has been in touch and there are no hard feelings.

She told the Lady Gang podcast: “Rami and I actually have talked since that came out. He connected with me, and we’re all good. He, you know, was so sweet and we’re totally fine now and we talked about it and we’re good.”

Bilson, who shot to fame playing Summer Roberts in early-2000s teen drama The OC, said the incident left her shaken.

Rami Malek
Rami Malek Rami Malek won an Oscar for playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody (Alberto Rodriguez/PA)

“I was so mortified though, I was having a panic attack,” she said. “I had to go to therapy that day, and I was like, ‘I am having anxiety. I did not want this to resurface in this way. I feel so bad. Oh my God. Rami is going to think I’m doing this again’.

“But it actually turned out to be a good thing for a reason, so we were able to reconnect and make it better and everything is great.”

She added: “He was so gracious and I totally understood where he was coming from and he understood me. And I was just so happy we were able to squash it and move on.”